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sooo…I guess in a way I’ve always known this but now I’m really trying to change my mindset.
See I had an issue, I ended up liking a different POV character better then the protagonist and had heard where, sometimes that means ur protagonist needs to change but I rlly didn’t want to do that.
so now I’ve discovered without a doubt that all of my POV characters ARE the protagonists. Like all of them.
I know this is a big undertaking but I’m doing it nonetheless. That being said, I could use some encouragement/help with changing my mindset and really understanding that each character is a main character, not just some important side character. (Eventually there are around 7 MCs, a lot but I’m gonna make it work because this is my series that is my literal baby so I do not want to change the character structure)
I know lots of books have had multiple POVs and MCs, but having 7 is still a lot. So, is there anyone here who has written maybe not multiple MCs but multiple POVs? Or has any advice and/or encouragement? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI can’t give you a lot of advice, but I can tell you about another book with 7 POV’s: The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson. I’d suggest looking into it if you want tips; he does a very good job of combining all their perspectives without being confusing or over-the-top. God’s blessings on your novel though, girl! You’ve got this, and more importantly, God’s got this! Keep it up! (And don’t worry: despite its creepy title, as far as I can remember, there is absolutely nothing questionable or iffy in the book; I would gladly let my seven-year-old brother and my gramma read it. So you’re good 🙂
Mmmm, yes. I too have stumbled upon this in my writing life before. (not like, specifically, but I’ve struggled with multiple protagonists.)
In my early WIP I have two protagonists. But as the series develops I get like, three more. So in the first book I have two characters and the POV changes from one to the other every chapter. The second I decided to stick with one character’s POV, the third book has different character’s POV and the fourth has a blend of prolly ten.
If you wanted to do a mixed POV story, maybe try (the common, but not yet overdone) naming each chapter after each character’s POV. For instance, if the chapter follows a kid named Kyle’s perspective, name the chapter Kyle. This will help with any confusion.
Idk, I hoped this helped!
Thanks y’all! Also I have done my first draft with the names of the charries as the chapter titles, but my thing with that is some chapters would be real short and choppy then cuz sometimes they’re in the same scene but one needs to have a POV of something but so does the other of something else in the same scene ya know? So I’ve decided some to have it where they do get a new paragraph start or whatever instead of chapter, BUT I will still keep their names above I think
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 Are you doing third or first person POV? With third you can do pretty much anything you want, with first it takes a lot of skill to pull off more than one POV, much less seven.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting 3rd person limited is what I’m trying to do.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 Ok, cool, that makes things easier for you. For my current work I’ve had multiple POVs, like, a lot, and they’re mainly all main or secondary characters. For my last thing I tried to do one POV per chapter, switching in an orderly way, but for this one I’m doing whatever feels right. Your main characters would have more POV sections, and your secondary characters have less. I’d advise you to just start and feel things around, and try practicing. Practice helps everything.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@godlyfantasy12 Lol, in one WIP of mine I have eight MCs, and all of them are POV characters. There are 2 that are somewhat more prominent than the others, but still. Eight MCs. I think it’s totally fine to have any amount of MCs! There’s no specific structure you have to conform to–readers like new, unprecedented things anyways. I think it’s definitely fine. 🙂
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home@scripter-of-kingdoms Ooh that makes me feel so much about cuz that’s about the same number I have. About 7 (eight if u count an animal sidekick). The way mine is working tho is a new character is introduced in each book until you teach book 5 (so books1-4 introduce new characters. That stay throughout the rest of the series
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 Yeah! It’s totally fine. 😀 Oh, that’s super cool! Sounds like you’ve got the setup of everything figured out! 😉 (Btw I saw your new website and love it!)
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my homeI think having multiple POVs is totally fine, and it’s my opinion that it can even make your story better! You get to hear from different people who feel, think, and act in different ways and experience different events. This can add layers to your story. I have multiple POVs in most of my novels. In one of them, I think I have seven, and in one I’m hoping to start soon, I’m probably going to have around or perhaps even more than that. 🙂 I think the main thing you and I will have to watch out for as we tackle many POVs in the same novel is doing too many. We don’t want to confuse the reader with a vast multitude of characters to keep track of. I think it’s probably best to only use POVs from characters who play pivotal roles in that particular, important scene, are main characters, or maybe, like Lin said, just feel right, but that’s just me. You might find something else works better! 🙂 Anyway, wishing you the best with this project! Go get ‘em, girl! <333
I can definitely understand your dilemma lol XD I personally don’t usually like books with that many POV’s (just because it can be hard to keep them all straight in my head), but that’s just me. I would say that you’re definitely doing something right if you’ve realized that each of your major side characters have protagonist vibes: each side character is the protagonist of their own story, but I don’t know if that necessarily means you have to give them each a POV. But again, that’s just me and if you want to tackle 7 POVs that YOU GO GIRL! 😉
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