Chapter/POV structure

[Bearman1]

Hey guys,

So I have a question about chapter structure. My current WIP has 2 MC and I have been alternating between the two of them for each chapter. I've now got to the point where I am not sure if it working. I feel like maybe I should be spending a few chapters with each before switching POV.

So my question is this - Do you guys find consistant chapter/POV structure important, or is it ok to sometimes only spend 1 chapter with a character and at other times spend 2 or 3 chapters with them before switching POV?

Thanks,

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

It can be done well either way, and it all comes down to the author's execution and story needs.

If you're having doubts as the writer, then it's probably not going to feel right to the reader. I usually trust my instincts on these types of choices. Try it the other way, where you allow the reader a few chapters with each POV & see how that feels.

In the end, if we're talking about a first draft, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can always shift chapters around during revision, into an order that feels more natural to you. When you send it out to readers and critique partners, ask them specifically for opinions regarding this issue.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I have done it a few ways. I think the best rule is that if you are using multiple Limited POV, say, Caged Maiden and T.Allen... you have to think about who has the most to lose in the situation. If T. Allen and the Caged Maiden are journeying through a jungle, when he almost dies, you would have to use Caged Maiden as the POV, if your plan is to reveal her deep feelings for him that she never spoke. If however, T. Allen is afraid that his death would mean the Caged Maiden never makes it to safety and all hope for the kingdom is lost, you'll want to use him as the POV so we can see his digging deep to keep going though he's wounded and weary.

You have to pick the POV who has the most powerful experience. Sorry, T. Allen, I'm sleepy and didn't want to invent some crap to use as an example.

I think setting up a structure is probably like painting yourself into a metaphorical corner in a way. It means sometimes you'll come to a scene that really ought to have been from Caged Maiden's POV but you'll throw off your pattern if you don't use T. Allen. I think that's one of the worst mistakes to make, and I should know, I've done it quite a few times. It's sometimes unavoidable, say, if you're keeping a secret from the reader. If Caged Maiden is secretly trying to get them lost in the forest because she doesn't want to return home to face her father, you can't very well use her POV to show the confusion of the trek, the danger and uncertainty, etc. because she's got different motives altogether. Then, you have only one choice, to NOT use her as the POV. If however you want the reader to know that NOW, then you have to use her POV. I keep secrets for impact, so when it comes out later that T. Allen is bleeding and asking why they're so lost and just got attacked by a saber-toothed bear and oh crap, the whole kingdom is going to be destroyed, the next chapter can open with Caged Maiden where she's lamenting her poor decision to get them lost and how guilty she feels because her noble escort is dying and the reader can understand the situation whether she ever reveals the truth to her companion or not.

It's all really about who has the most to lose, the strongest viewpoint on a particular event, and what secrets you're keeping from the reader, so they come out at the time they have the most impact. Hope that helps.

 

[Caged Maiden]

BTW, you don't necessarily have to use a whole chapter from one POV or the other. Here's a scene I rarely use, whereby both characters are in the same scene, but with a break, I show them both in limited:

Rafe trudged home after a long day, the evening air picking at his coat like a dueling opponent, scoring nick after nick. It cut through in a most annoying way, finding every opening available to inflict maximum discomfort.
When he opened the front door, he found his pretty, little wife waiting for him. She wore a tatty apron over her housedress and held in her hands what might have passed for some sort of baked goods. If not for her shy smile, he would have dismissed the offering, saying he wasn’t hungry, but her gesture sought his approval. Despite his decidedly foul mood, Rafe had to smile. “Welcome home, signor,” she said. “May I take your coat while you get comfortable?”
“Where’s Gabriele?”
“I told him he could have the night to himself–that I would see to supper and your comfort this evening. Your mother told me how you liked muffins with your tea,” she continued. “So, I made you some. Oh, and some tea.” She set down the pan in her hands and whipped around to hold out a cup and saucer.
He’d have preferred a chance to take off his boots but the thought of her hovering with the dangerous tea created some urgency. He hung his coat on the hook and took the offered cup.
Her cheeks reddened and she led him to the dining room, where the table had been set for a single diner. “I hope you’re hungry, signor,” she said, wringing her hands by the doorway. “I made you one of Marietta’s specialties, duck in bramble sauce.”
Rafe sat at the table, since she’d gone through the trouble of cooking for him, and immediately wished he hadn’t. As dish after dish was served, he quickly realized the girl was as inept in a kitchen as he was in a smithy. Most of what lay on the table was unrecognizable, covered in thick sauces or cooked to dull colorlessness. “Aren’t you going to join me?”
“I had to try everything as I was cooking it,” she said, cheeks pinking. “I’m not hungry.”
“Would you just sit then? It is unnerving, eating with someone hovering about.” She slid wordlessly into a chair. Bravely, Rafe spooned something chunky onto his plate and then what he hoped was the aforementioned duck–fat bubbles floating in a deep purple sludge. Gabriele was a good cook, he thought as he took a bite.

*​

​

Daniela watched him eat, feeling as if she’d won some small victory. Perhaps she should make his breakfasts in the mornings too. Marietta had been right, so Daniela decided to find a way to thank the old woman for her sage advice.
When supper was finished, Daniela poured her husband a glass of wine and began clearing the dishes, wondering where to begin with washing the stack of messy pans. She returned to the dining room to fetch the wine glass and found Rafe gone. A thump by the front door alerted her and when she tracked into the front room, she found him heading for the staircase. His boots off and a lamp in his hand, she asked, “Are you going to bed already?”
“The thought crossed my mind. Thank you for supper.”
“I hoped we might speak before retiring.”

He sighed. “What’s on your mind?” He set the lamp on the credenza.

I don't do that often, using two people to view one event, but in this case, it was really important to see both PsOV looking at the same scene. So I used a break to switch.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

My first (and only published) novel was written this way, with two main POV characters and strictly alternating chapters. I would NEVER do that again. It imposed too much constraint on what I could do. There were times when I was scratching round to fill a Mia chapter while Hurst had all the action. There were times when a chapter ran on far longer than I was comfortable with because I just couldn't break away: Mia wasn't around and wasn't doing anything interesting at the time (unconscious, in one case!). There were times when the two were in different places when the chapters got out of sync in time. It was just a mild inconvenience when I was writing the first draft, but when I was editing it was a nightmare - I couldn't whip out a whole chapter or rejig the order, because it spoiled the nice symmetry.

On the other hand, when it works, it works really well. There were times when it felt good to end a chapter and switch POV to freshen the action with a different perspective. And (for those who like that sort of thing) you can end a chapter on a cliff-hanger, and then have a chapter with the other character (who may or may not know what's going on - lots of possibilities for dramatic tension), and then switch back again to reveal what happened.

I would say, it's better to let the POV you use be an organic choice, arising from the needs of the story, rather than impose a rigid structure.

 

[TWErvin2]

As a reader, if you started the novel alternating chapters, creating a pattern, there should be a good reason--something happening major in the plot--that would make logical sense to break the pattern.

As Pauline M Ross indicated, establishing such a structure can cause some concern. I've used novel structures where I planning was necessary for two storylines to converge logically in the same chapter. The appropriate content over the previous chapters was tricky and required planning ahead of time.

If you plotted out your novel, you may have seen this coming. Plus, outlines don't necessarily survive the first draft. If you haven't planned and just hoped it would work out? Sometimes things like that happen, and it falls together. Other times not.

What I would suggest is to complete the novel's first draft, switching POVs as necessary. Then go back and re-assess. Is it possible to revise and maintain the alternating structure initially established? Was the alternating structure at the beginning not necessarily the best way to go to begin with? Looking at the draft as a whole, is it proper for the flow of the storyline and won't jar the reader's immersion and expectations, to make the switch up? There are probably more questions, but such questions cannot be fully answered, I think, until the end of the story's first draft is reached and you have time to set it aside, and then come back and objectively decide.

 

[Trick]

All I can offer is my own experience with alternating PsOV. In my WIP I have an MC and a secondary character as my PsOV and my unwritten plan was: they will always be given at least a whole chapter of face time because they don't encounter each other until the end. Since my MC is the focus of the story, he might get 3 or 4 chapters at a time before I break and do a chapter from the SC's POV. The SC never get's more than one chapter at a time, although some are a little longer than others.

What I didn't realize was that I was creating a pattern subconsciously. 5 Chapters MC, 1 Chapter SC, 4 Chapters MC, 1 Chapter SC, 3 Chapters MC... and so on. The SC's chapters came closer together at an interval in a way that reflected the tension in his plot line. So far it's working gloriously but if it creates a problem, I'll err on the side of making sense and let my pattern dissipate.

 

[Kennith E Perry]

G.R.R. Martin does this in the Song of Ice and Fire novels (Game of Thrones) each chapter is written from the POV of one character then it will switch to another character in the next.

 

[Bearman1]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it is massively appreciated. I have been going over my previous chapters and can see where in my story a major event breaks the mold of the story and it is where I will end my 1 chapter per POV. I think this is going to be a natural phase of the story to break away from the original pattern and begin dedicating a few chapters at a time to each POV.

This is still the first draft so it isn't in anyway neat and tidy yet, but I do want to have this draft as close to the final product as possible so I have gone back and re-organised my chapters. I've found that I need to change the end of my chapters now though because some of them were left on cliff-hangers that don't really work anymore. Other than that though I happy with the structure for now.