Advice for Mastering Multiple POVs

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Image by geralt via Pixabay

If you want to write your version of Game of Thrones, Roz Morris has advice for writing in multiple POVs on her Nail Your Novel blog. Morris recently used seven distinct character POVs in her novel Ever Rest.

Morris says there is no “right” number of POVs. “It’s too many if you can’t handle them properly,” she says. “Otherwise, go for it.” She offers some tips for writing in multiple POVs.

  1. You don’t need to divide the book equally. “Some characters are secondary,” Morris explains. “Their situation is not as fraught and tormented, or they won’t go through very much change.”
  2. You do need to make them distinct individuals.
  3. You need to let them speak in their own voices and make their own mistakes.
  4. You must remember what they know and what they value.
  5. The reader needs clear indications of whose POV is driving each scene.
  6. Ask if you need all those POVs.