Braided novels are a specific subset of multiple-viewpoint structure. In a braided novel, there are two or more protagonist characters who each have their own “A” plot-problem, which usually occur over the same time period and which come together in the same (or parallel) climax. The stories
Read more →In case anyone wondered, the interior pages got finished and turned in in good time. But today’s post is going to be more ranting about the WIP. Fair warning. Multiple viewpoint stories are inherently complicated. As a reader, I often find myself interested mainly in one specific
Read more →The other day I ran across an article on writing scenes, and the very first tip in it was “stick to one viewpoint per scene.” Based on context, the writer meant “stick to one viewpoint character per scene,” because it is rare for a writer to switch
Read more →Writing a multiple viewpoint story, novel, or series means that you are will be juggling many different viewpoint characters, each with their own story as well as their contributions to the main plotline. Choosing those characters takes a bit of care and attention, especially for writers who
Read more →Multiple viewpoint stories, especially the sort that are occasionally termed “bestseller style,” have become increasingly popular over the past couple of decades – popular with would-be writers, at least. Some people hear the saying that “viewpoint solves everything” and assume that it means all they have to
Read more →As I said last week, multiple viewpoint is most commonly used these days for writing ensemble cast or braided plot novels, and for these, one usually ends up with a more-or-less balanced word count for each POV character. The most obvious case of this is the alternating-viewpoint
Read more →Let me start by defining “multiple viewpoint.” A multiple-viewpoint story is one in which the scenes, chapters, or sections are written either from the point of view of different characters, or using different types of viewpoint (e.g. first person for the first scene/section/chapter, tight-third for the second),
Read more →Last week, I got an interesting question in my email, sparked by the posts on multiple viewpoint. The writer wanted to know about switching types of viewpoint – that is, writing a multiple-viewpoint story in which some POV characters are written in first-person and some in third-person.
Read more →I recently read a dual-viewpoint story that I nearly put down right in the middle, even though I’d been thoroughly enjoying it up until that point, because of the way the author handled the viewpoints. Specifically, the question of which viewpoint to use to tell the reader
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