Can a novella have two povs?

[Chessie]

Hi everyone, I'm doing a rewrite of the novella I finished in February. I took some time to play with the concepts in it, and have now changed some things around. In the original story, the supporting character was a child. It is now the main character's husband, which fits the style of the story nicely.

And because Miksha is an adult, I can go much further with the horror aspect of the story. Sharing his point of view would enrich the tale greatly, but the issue I'm having is that its rather short and moves fast. From what I have read of writing novellas (and being a lover of reading them as well), it seems that having only one point of view in the story is important because it allows the reader to lock down on a character through a fast moving story, thus making it less confusing.

If this story reaches 110 pages, I will be surprised. So I'd like to ask what my fellow writers and readers think about this. Would it be too confusing to have a second point of view in there? I'm considering having the main character's scenes as the longer ones, with his as the shorter ones.

What's happening: the couple is traveling through a haunted forest and become separated. The husband is taken by Rusalki, which are water ghouls that try to drown him. The wife tries to save him but her life is endangered as well, so she runs to get help and ends up being rescued by a witch. The witch tells the wife how she can save the husband, but first she must do some things for her. But the wife knows she is running out of time to save her husband, so that adds on to the tension (basically the witch gives her some impossible tasks to do in order to earn the boon that will save the husband). I think two povs would be valid here. Anyway, just curious to see what some of you think. Thank you!

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I think it can be done. However, your concerns are valid. As such, I'd recommend limiting one of the POVs (probably the husband from your description). Focusing on one will earn greater reader connection to a character, while sprinkling the other in can add a sense of desperation and urgency.

Try it and see. What do you have to lose?

I'm working on a novella sized story as well, for an anthology. Like you, I need two POVs. The difference is that the first 3/4 of the story will be told from one POV. The ending will be from the secondary POV, so it will be more linear than what you're proposing.

I still think you can do it though....

 

[ThinkerX]

I put a 7500 word novelette in 'Showcase' last year with three POV characters...and a cast of over a dozen.

 

[Michael J. Tobias]

Yes, you can do it. Should you? That remains to be seen. The question you have to ask yourself is, do I need two POVs? In the story you describe, I can see how it may work. Switching back and forth between the husband and wife will provide an excellent feel of a race.

Oh no, he's bleeding profusely. Will she make it in time? What? Now she has that to deal with? OMG, she'll NEVER make it.

Or consider using only her POV. Now the reader is moved along solely with her, feels her anxiety keenly since the reader has no idea whether the husband is okay, badly injured, being slowly tortured, having vital parts removed, or dead.

So, it basically depends on how you wish to maintain the tension. Personally, I'd go with her POV only, but that's just me.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

For me, I'm switching POVs in a novella for the reason that I want to show what the main character does not always see.

As long as you have a valid reason (such as characters being separated), I think you're using multiple POVs in a way that supports your story, so it's fine.

 

[Feo Takahari]

How much does this need to be a novella? If you feel like the two characters are taking time away from each other, you could always expand both their scenes a bit.

(I've done this before myself, and I think it worked out okay. That novella was almost pure character study, though--you might need more space if you also want things like action.)

 

[Chessie]

How much does this need to be a novella?

Hi Feo, there's just not enough content in the story for it to be anything longer than a novella. Its a pretty straightforward tale. But I could try and expand the husband's pov and see what happens, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sadie]

I would say stick with the wife's POV. From what you mentioned, it would work best for me if I read this story. For me, her anxiety and her struggle to accomplish the witch's task would be completely invalidated if I knew what her husband was doing at this time. It would help to stress her despair if I didn't know if he was OK. But that's just my opinion, and I am sure two POVs can be made to work too.

Also, why rusalki?

 

[Chessie]

Sadie, you make a valid point that the readers might not be so worried if they know what's going on with him. It might take away from the tension if they know he's fighting for his life while she's doing whatever it is she needs to do. Hadn't thought of that.

Rusalki because--why not? The story world is inspired from Russian folklore. When I read about the Rusalki, I thought it would be interesting to have a character tied up with them, since their chances of surviving the experience were basically slim to none. So for the horror as much as I personally would like to know what would happen in such a situation.