Writing Intersecting POVs.

Hi all, longtime fan here. I wanted to know what your thoughts were on writing multiple POV characters whose separate actions indirectly affect the other.

A small example: one man at the peak of a mountain throws a ball off the top. meanwhile, a guy at the bottom is looking for his dog and gets hit in the head with a ball from out of nowhere.

that sort of writing has always intrigued me, I am working on a project in such a format. and I wanted to know if you have any tips and pointers. Also, if you have any experience in writing this type of fiction please do share.

edited 22nd Jun '15 3:39:31 PM by mockmeamadeus

The absolute, most critical thing to keep in mind for this (and while I'd recommend it in general, this is pretty damn mandatory when you're expecting your reader to follow the links between the plots) is to keep track of what you've done. That includes the when, which can occasionally get lost in the shuffle but could screw with the timeline if you're not careful. So note the time, the location, the end result of what happened (if a man was stabbed in the leg, you'd better still have him limping the next day), and that'll keep readers from being confused.

Second big tip: readers are smart, and they'll get the picture. When you're making your intersection between plots, you don't have to beat it over people's heads. The common trap is explaining the MacGuffin in exactly the same way, regardless of character voice, just because you're nervous characters won't pick up on it. Now that's fine for a while, but if it breaks the character, it sticks out like a painful thumb. For example, say you have a story where a beautiful piece of glass gets passed around:

Character A says it's a smooth, swirling stone hued a bright cerulean.

Character B says it almost looks like a gem, so close in colour to cerulean, but the swirls made it hard to tell.

Character C says this is the Swirling Stone of Magic, a clear cerulean to match the waters from where it was birthed.

They're all linked by the same description, and I get it - I really get it - that it's swirly and cerulean. For whatever reason, each of those characters uses that colour: maybe one is very particular about details, the second is a jeweller, and the third is a scholar. But what about a lowly wench and a thief who find this thing?

"Ooh, wha's that?"

"Dunno. Some hunk of crap. I took it coz it sparkles."

"It's very pretty! I could make a necklace out of it!"

"You want it? You like blue garbage. Have the damn thing - I won't make much off'f a ball of glass."

It's the same object with the same basic details, but so clearly coloured by the characters' voices. I don't have to say it swirls or that it's cerulean. There's enough attention paid to the kind of 'off' information to clue the reader in. That goes for locations and people, too.

If you're really worried, you can always through in a separate scene later:

"Tha's nae blue. Would ne'er call tha' blue. Say it's - ah... aquamarine."

"Cerulean, you twit."

"Aye - tha's the one! I always had a knack f'colours."

So don't just shove it all on us at once. Spread it out and show us what the stone looks like through the way characters respond.

edited 23rd Jun '15 10:01:15 AM by Tartra

thanks for the advice! As a matter of the facts, I have a word doc dedicated entirely to character actions and interactions based on the day that they happened. I was even thinking of having each chapter indicate what day it took place on.

ie: a literal Day 1- Charlie, Day 1- Jess to avoid confusion.

also appreciate the comment about making sure they don't describe something the same. Hopefully these characters all have distinct enough personalities and experiences that when they are all involved the exact same event. (a riot) the audience will find them seeing different sides of the same coin.

I was also wondering if it works if they themselves are not always the agent that affects the other POV's story. like if, say they are witness to an event, or a side character close to one POV, makes the others life a living hell.

edited 23rd Jun '15 1:25:15 PM by mockmeamadeus

Heh. I have something like this in the novel I just wrote. I have three protag's, and I sometimes present the same scene through two or more sets of eyes. For example, one character arrives at an airport, and travels downtown. Later one of the other characters arrives at the same airport, goes to the same downtown- and they see completely different things. It's an opportunity to engage in some clever character development.

Well, here's the thing: writing is our fickle, friendly, pain in the ass in which absolutely no idea sounds good on paper and absolutely everything has been successful. For every rule or suggestion of what will or won't work, I promise you'll find a string of failed novels followed immediately by best-selling, award-winning, critically worshipped books that did the (on the surface) exact same thing. Everything works if you do it right. What does doing it right mean? Pfft - ask a psychic, 'cause readers are even more fickle. But there are general guidelines that have better-than-not success.

One I want to share with your idea is that, while you can absolutely have your chapter's POV be from the witness or bystander, you have to be able to tell me why. As a reader, I'm here for the story and whatever that story defines action as. If all the good stuff is following Charlie, why are you putting me in Jen's shoes? What's the benefit of seeing things through her eyes? What gain on the reading experience does she give me? Again, it's pretty general advice, but especially if you're switching PO Vs and trying to build links through everything, keep in the mind that I, the reader, will be working overtime to find the meaning behind what you chose to write. If there isn't one, I'll feel let down and maybe not trust the writer who made me head-watch Charlie's shenanigans through way-the-hell-over-there Jen.

edited 24th Jun '15 6:22:28 AM by Tartra

Yes, that is quite an important piece of advice, I say.

The readers—generally, for it's already been established that fickle beings they are—want the character from whose perspective they are seeing the story to be somehow involved in it. Some authors choose to make the character who is the most important to the plot into the hanger for the camera (so to say), because that way the readers will see the character do something; others attach the narrator to the character who is developing the most throughout the story, because that way the readers will see the character grow and get better; yet others choose to make a character who does not really affect much—if anything at all—the centre of narration because the character's personality and the commentary coloured by it makes it for an interesting read.

Of course, one has to practice moderation too. Make the doer the only one who does anything and you'll get a Marty Stu or Mary Sue which can make the readers fed up with it. Make the learner the only one who changes and you can make the readers fed up with how static the word is. And make the commenter too sarcastic for their own good and they might get fed up with him too.