tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post4632772790699759921..comments2024-03-12T05:11:42.096-07:00Comments on Write of Passage: Hopping Heads: Switching Point-of-View Characters Mid-ParagraphLinda Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-83792437241229062892012-10-22T15:09:23.401-07:002012-10-22T15:09:23.401-07:00Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Melba. I agree ...Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Melba. I agree that it differs by genre, and also think by writer. How a person writes overall has an impact on whether we can or want to follow multiple pov's on the same page.Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-82069201283284011082012-10-22T15:06:48.705-07:002012-10-22T15:06:48.705-07:00Good point. We're getting stricter in some way...Good point. We're getting stricter in some ways. Kind of too bad in a way, as the point sometimes seems to be to make the reader think lessLinda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-16987159822935418942012-10-21T22:28:09.879-07:002012-10-21T22:28:09.879-07:00Interesting topic, thank you for sharing. I hear t...Interesting topic, thank you for sharing. I hear this a lot, that readers want to have alternating POV chapters, and don't like the head hopping however as a reader myself, I prefer either just one POV (and not first person, usually, and with omni narrator there as well) or am happy for the jumping around as I like to read from afar and feel like I have an overview of what's happening to everyone (this has to be balanced, though, against the problems of 'over-population'). I also tend to write this way, as if I am hovering above my characters, not inhabiting them. Some see this as a weakness or a problem but I see it as the way I like to write and if it doesn't work, then I'll try harder to make it work this way without resorting to what I see as something easier. I see the one chapter in Joe's voice, the next chapter in Jess's as contrived and basic but I think it works better in certain genres than say literary.Melbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257719342445833725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-81869819145426458882012-10-21T22:04:11.405-07:002012-10-21T22:04:11.405-07:00We are more rigourous now in what we accept. Some ...We are more rigourous now in what we accept. Some writers in decades past would switch mid-paragraph.<br /><br />http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-various-points-of-view-of-writing/<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-55223145278158429452012-09-10T21:25:11.675-07:002012-09-10T21:25:11.675-07:00So interesting, Charmaine--several commenters have...So interesting, Charmaine--several commenters have stated a preference for dedicated chapters. I like that, too, although I usually have no problem with breaks within a chapter to change pov, But, yes, we're confused enough without head hopping to add to it! :) Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-24468411130297060862012-09-10T21:19:52.920-07:002012-09-10T21:19:52.920-07:00Makes sense, Lydia. Goes to skill, like just about...Makes sense, Lydia. Goes to skill, like just about everything in writing. Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-84925180400876995282012-09-10T16:17:55.141-07:002012-09-10T16:17:55.141-07:00I don't like head hopping, I get confused... a...I don't like head hopping, I get confused... although it doesn't take much to confuse me :)<br /><br />Some authors pull it off, but when reading, I prefer dedicated chapters to voices.Charmaine Clancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18059559142070140041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-39939610050179286452012-09-10T14:54:22.189-07:002012-09-10T14:54:22.189-07:00I think it depends on the story and writing. Somet...I think it depends on the story and writing. Sometimes switching POVs doesn't bother me; at other times, I don't like it. Lydia Kanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00484415427764822386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-60560059599337617422012-09-10T14:43:33.405-07:002012-09-10T14:43:33.405-07:00So true, Heather . . . it is an advanced technique...So true, Heather . . . it is an advanced technique!Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-68464574814199881272012-09-10T10:23:14.571-07:002012-09-10T10:23:14.571-07:00As a reader and publisher, I prefer authors to swi...As a reader and publisher, I prefer authors to switch with a different chapter, or a chapter break (if done right). Switching POV's within the same page and pulling it off is an extremely advanced technique and unless the author has the confidence and ability of say Frank Herbert (Dune) then they shouldn't do it. Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130733681254163610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-73496684073641606632012-09-10T07:25:10.918-07:002012-09-10T07:25:10.918-07:00I love that device of changing pov with chapters, ...I love that device of changing pov with chapters, Sheri . . . it's a cool way to show each character intimately, and then bring them together over time or show how their lives intersect or fail to. Congrats on your YA novel!Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-85495501648575371002012-09-10T07:18:53.722-07:002012-09-10T07:18:53.722-07:00I think THEY don't notice. They're so into...I think THEY don't notice. They're so into the scene in their own heads and so close to the characters that it comes out on the page in a flow of p.o.v.s But we don't know the characters and story so intimately and need to be shown who's thinking what more clearly . . . editing makes such a diff with this sort of thing!Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-29157913873752883242012-09-10T07:18:36.883-07:002012-09-10T07:18:36.883-07:00I'm going to agree with Natalie here. MY YA no...I'm going to agree with Natalie here. MY YA novel is written from two POVs and separated by chapters. S.A. Larsenッhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241633272588383935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-76905538323477726472012-09-10T07:07:02.585-07:002012-09-10T07:07:02.585-07:00Linda, it drives me crazy when I'm in one POV ...Linda, it drives me crazy when I'm in one POV and all of the sudden we know what another person is thinking. How do they know what the other person feels or thinks?<br /><br />Perhaps is the entire story was that way... I might not have a problem. I can usually keep track. But I think sometimes writers get lazy, and or forget who they're writing about. Do they think we won't notice? Hmmmm<br />Karlene Petitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17910702587514001827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-55063052626654420172012-09-10T06:31:38.038-07:002012-09-10T06:31:38.038-07:00Exactly, Natialie. You're experiencing the aut...Exactly, Natialie. You're experiencing the author's voice in that feeling that it's 3rd-person omniscient. Being closer than that to the characters is what we want as readers.Linda Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00464543671077860561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377741836634273944.post-33648032034504868562012-09-10T03:23:20.924-07:002012-09-10T03:23:20.924-07:00I really feel closer to the characters when it'...I really feel closer to the characters when it's told from one POV in a chapter and then alternate the POV in the next chapter. When I see something like your example I feel like I'm more in 3rd person omniscient and don't feel as close to the charactersNatalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.com