In a post on Writer Unboxed, Dave King says that using multiple POVs can help you show many sides to your single story world, creating depth that your story might otherwise lack. “It’s hard enough to create a single fictional world, one that’s internally consistent, gives your readers enough details to feel they’re actually there, and gives a dramatic background for your story,” King says. “What if you could do it several times?”
Showing your world through multiple perspectives allows you to show different sides of a conflict, layers of character, and the nuances of ideas and controversies. “You can draw readers into your story with a conflict where one person’s right and the other is wrong,” King acknowledges. “But where both sides have a point, the drama moves to a deeper level. Readers aren’t simply worried about who will win. They’re worried about who they want to win.”
You can also set two characters on a collision course, as each sees the world – and the other – differently from how they view themselves. To do that successfully, you need to see both sides simultaneously. “This means letting your characters be who they are without judging them, which isn’t as easy as it sounds,” King writes. But developing this kind of non-judgmental observation is one of the way that writing can make you a better person. And it can often make for better stories.”
