Question about Multiple Perspectives in a Novel

[Chris Tusa]

I'm wondering . . .when you read a novel with multiple perspectives (each written in first-person), do you expect the writing to SOUND different for each character? I understand readers expect a different perspective from each character, but I'm wondering if they also expect a different voice.

[sari]

A different voice is a must for me. A great way to make a character connect with the reader is to have characters with unique voices, thoughts and feelings. One way to convey this is to make sure each perspective is unique.

[Harvee Lau]

If only the perspective is important, then I guess the voice doesn't matter as much, unless you are painting a unique personality.

[Josh Covington]

Yes absolutely each character and each perspective needs a unique voice, otherwise you're really wasting the best aspect of using first person. You should get into both what they think and how they think as well. Otherwise, there's no point.

Josh
JoshCovington.com

[Linda]

I think of it as different personalities will sound different.

[Nicole Jablonski]

There definitely has to be a marked difference for each character such as dialogue, thoughts or whatever. I hate reading books written in first person from several characters perspectives and not being able to tell which character I'm currently visiting with.

[Jennifer Jensen]

Actually, I do. I have read a few authors who have switched between multiple perspectives and have had to go back to the beginning of the section to see whose head I'm currently in. This has happened with "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (I still really liked the book) and several of Jodi Picoult's books.

[Stacy-Deanne (Novelist)]

Hi Chris,

I don't read many first-time novels. But the key is (no matter what POV or person you're writing in), you gotta write it the way the character would think at all times. It's the same for first person and third person POV. I'm not sure about second POV. I'm not too familiar with that one and people hardly use it.

Wouldn't it be easier for you to write third person POV if you're gonna be writing from a lot of character's POV's? You certainly can do it in first if you prefer but if you don't do it crafty enough or interesting enough, it can lose a reader fast. It can also be very confusing.

There is one method I know writers who want to do multiple first person voices do. They introduce the characters by naming each chapter after a character. That way the reader knows you're flipping to someone else and they won't have trouble. But it seems to get confusing when these characters come together. You still gonna have to end up picking ONE's POV over the other. You won't be able to use them all through the whole story.

I don't know, Chris. If this is what you feel is good for the story then you should try it. But if it reads confusing to you or if you find yourself being limited by doing this, you can explore other options. Just try it and see if it's comfortable. I don't like first person novels much because I get tired of them going "I" and first person books remind me too much of memoirs. Most of them focus too much on the character's POV to the point where the plots end up dragging. I also find them to all be very depressing. Most first person novels seem to go on the "Whoa is me" factor where the character has to do some deep self-discovery. This makes most first person books very predictable, extremely gloomy and cliche'. It's very hard for an author to pull first person off effectively and with skill. First person books are also ones that most likely tell everything and never show. Writers who write in this POV need to remember it's just as important showing in these types of books as others. The best first person writers know to limit the use of "I" or "me" and bring in more depth.

The classic writers seemed to have no trouble pulling it off back in the day but it's not as popular anymore. As a writer, it would complicate things for me. I try to write as simple and clear as possible, LOL. Plus since I don't like the first POV myself, I wouldn't write it. I wrote two first person manuscripts when I first started in writing but I quickly saw how limited and bored I was with the style.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Chris Tusa]

Thanks so much. These are some wonderful insights, and I'll definitely consider them over the next few weeks.