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In my latest story, it will be nessesary to change the pov for a bit. any suggestions on the best way to do that?
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In my latest story, it will be nessesary to change the pov for a bit. any suggestions on the best way to do that?
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Scene breaks
That's really all there is to it -- use clearly defined transitions to change POV. The clearest and easiest transition is a chapter. If you aren't using chapters, then use a double space or some character to define the break -- asterisks are most common:
This is used in a manuscript to signify that the extra space is intentional so it will be left in when the work is printed, but it works well for online stories. Probably the most important rule to keep in mind is you should never change POV within a paragraph.
Scott
I cried for her.
I cried for me.
I cried for a world that wouldn’t let her be.
-- from Luna by Julie Anne Peters
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/
Bree
The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph
Make It Clear
Be sure to allow the story to tell the reader in clear terms that you've changed the point of view character.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Shift
If you're using a third-person omniscient narrator, just start a new paragraph, and use framing text to let the reader know the scene is changing:
If the first part was being told in first person, you could keep the same characterization of your narrator, but give her more information as a narrator than she had within the story, to sort of turn her into a third-person omniscient with respect to the other character. Something like:
If you want to tell both pieces in first person, you could be blunt and insert the character name before their piece. If you shift back and forth frequently, you could make it read like the transcript of a double interview.
If you're going to start with one narrator, go for a long bit with a second narrator, and then switch back to the original, another way of going about it would be to change the style, color, or typeface of the text for each narrator. This is especially useful, if you want to keep the identity of one of your narrators secret.
There's no one "BEST" way.
Different authors do it in different ways.
The "SAFEST" is at chapter breaks, but that can have more info go by than you want. A lot depends on whether you want the different POVs to go forward at the same pace - or allow them to lurch ahead. Another factor is whether you will have the same scene depicted from different POVs or if actions in one stream of the story directly impact what's happening in the other - in such a way as they'll distract the reader if they various story lines get too far in front of one another.
If you've not done multi-POV before, I'd suggest that you try it, and work with an Editor to make sure your context switching is smooth and clear. It's VERY distracting for a reader to discover - several paragraphs down - that the author switched.
Good Luck.
Anne