Characters
by Christina
Question: I am writing a story from the viewpoints of three different characters, there are going to be a lot of names throughout the story and I'm unsure if the reader would be able to catch all of their names and personality because of the POV's. should I keep it to one POV or try and describe the characters in each of the POV's?
Answers: That rather depends on a number of factors.
1. How well are you able to make the voices of your three POV characters distinct from each other, so that the reader can easily figure out whose head they are in?
Apart from this, you will need to use other clues to let the reader know when you have switched POV characters.
2. What is the advantage of using multiple POV characters? Perhaps dramatic irony matters to the story? Or do you think different readers will relate better to different characters? Or are you exploring a thematic issue differently from each POV?
3. Bear in mind that the more POV characters you have, the less time the reader can spend with any one of them, so the weaker the connection between the reader and the main character. So think about what will have the most emotional impact. Whatever choice you make, it should be to the advantage of the story.
When in doubt, you can use a beta reader (or a friend) who can read your work and tell you if they get confused.
Best of luck.
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