ASK A LITERARY CONSULTANT
Whose point of view?
Helen Corner-Bryant looks at ways of conveying different POVs without head-hopping
Helen Corner-Bryant
Q I have a question about POV. In the historical novel I plan to write, my two characters are very different: he is an ex-priest, an aristocrat, and she is a peasant. I would love to oppose both POVs on the same page, since they see the world so differently. How can I do this without head-hopping?
A Point of view (POV) can be a tricky beast to tame. There are three main types of POV, then the depth of narration to consider and the plurality of its focus – does the narration centre on one character for the whole book, or on multiple characters? Before you know it, you’ve written a patchwork story that needs a little… shaping.