Multiple POV Characters- Benefits/Drawbacks?

[Feverfew]

I'm sure others have asked these questions before but I couldn't find them, apologies for any redundancy!

I've been batting around lots of different ideas for fantasy stories for a while now, and recently started writing them down without much thought towards the shape it would take.
Without much planning I started writing chapters for different POV characters.
I don't have much experience writing stories, and I'm wary of biting off more than I can chew. I love how a multiple POV characters gives you the shades of grey in an event- one persons perception can be vastly different.

I'm interested to read what everyone's opinions are on multiple POV characters.

Right now I have about three POV characters (plans for at least one more), but they are all on different continents with different missions. I have plans of how they overlap, but I don't want to cram too much action and travelling into a short story.
What I'm beginning to realize (by reading the constructive advice on these forums) that my best, most constructive option is to start small and build out. I would love to start (maybe even finish) a 5+ book series obviously, but I'm going to pick one of my POV characters and stick with them for a short story, and maybe feature a passing reference to events and characters that may be in future stories.

Is an occasional shift in POV too jarring? I've seen it used to good effect recently reading Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard series- where you follow Locke and pals for the majority, and get little asides.

A lot comes down to taste I'm sure. I'm trying to get a bit of feedback before I dig too deeply and make this WIP larger than it needs to be.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Penpilot]

Off the top of my head, the draw backs of multiple POVs is it'll be harder to maintain momentum with a character. The reader will get attached to a POV's character and love reading about them and then you switch, which creates a bit of a disconnect, stopping that character's forward momentum cold while the reader is reading about other characters. This happens each time you switch POVs.

Obviously, this can be a good tool when telling a large and complex story from varying views, (Eg. Game of Thrones) but also it increases the complexity not just in terms of story but in terms of logistics of just keeping track of stuff.

With one POV, you only have to deal with your main character and their immediate relationships. With two POVs, double that and then add that now you have to deal with the relationship/non-relationship between the two POVs and how they're going to converge. With three POVs, triple the immediate relationships and now add having to deal with the relationship/non-relationship between the other two POV characters and how they're going to converge.

It really starts to turn into this massive web that grows exponentially with each POV added.

With a short story, it's going to be tricky giving enough page time to more than two POVs and to get their story across without it either feeling rushed, or growing beyond the short story length into a novella/novelette.

Here's a diagram showing how complex things can get the more charater's you have.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I agree with PenPilot & I'll add one more aspect.

I like writing & reading multiple POVs. If handled well, I don't mind switching from one to the next...BUT... And this is a big "but"... Each POV must be distinct from the others AND interesting.

If one POV is vastly more interesting than the others, I'll want to get back to that one, or I'll find it jarring to leave. Also, if there are two or more POVs that are similar in style and/or story role, both will feel weaker, or diluted, lessening my interest.

 

[Chessie]

As a reader, I personally can't handle more than 2 POVS. I have a short attention span, so it takes me time to warm up to the main character. I start to care...things get interesting...I'm eager to learn more...and then another character shows up. I'm thrown off. I stop caring. I have read several stories with multiple POVS and although they were good stories, I didn't finish those series because of that reason. But I'm probably in the minority when it comes to that.

I agree that its best for them to have their own distinct voice and be interesting. And there are plenty readers out there that do like multiple POVS. In my own writing I stop at 2.

 

[skip.knox]

An Instance of the Fingerpost. I didn't care for the book, but it reviews well. Four people tell their version of more or less the same events. Each gets a quarter of the book, by turns, like witnesses. Or, A Song of Ice and Fire, of course. Scads of POVs there.

In both cases, the multiple POVs are necessary. The story could not be told any other way. For me, the story comes first. Always. If I can tell the story with a single POV, then that's what I do. If more are needed, then I use more. It's not something I can decide in the abstract.

 

[Jabrosky]

Multiple viewpoints can work, but I think there should still be a central narrative that links them together from the get-go. One of the major reasons I couldn't get into the original Game of Thrones book was the narrative's disjointed nature. I got no sense that any of the various viewpoint characters had anything to do with each other beyond distant familial relations. There was no central plot whatsoever, not even one suggested by the book's blurb.

Personally I prefer to center the story on my protagonist and their development. More straightforward plotting that way.

 

[TWErvin2]

4 POVs for a short story is probably too many. Most short stories are under 5000 words (unless you mean short novel or novella).

A thing to consider is if each POV is necessary to relay the story to the reader. Maybe it would be 'interesting' to have this perspective, but is it necessary? Does it improve the story? It might, or it might not.

Reading novels similar to what you hope to attempt is a good way to determine how to incorporate and intertwine the different POVs in a smooth manner. Read and re-read, and study and take notes so that you can apply what you learn to your own storyline and characters and writing style.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Multiple POVs is common in epic fantasy - but it's incredibly difficult to write. Not only does each character have to be unique, with their own believable motivation and story arc, but it's also hugely challenging to have a group of POV characters together and not acknowledge them.

Personally I would advise inexperienced writers to start with just one character, and try and achieve writing them competently. Only then would I suggest trying to look to do more.

Otherwise you end up like me - with an early draft with lots of badly drawn characters, that will take years of rewriting to even begin to get anywhere competent!

Ideally, start simple, then expand out as required. For smaller headaches, anyway.