If you’re anything like me, your writing journey may have looked a little like this:
Ideas, great ideas! Get it all down on paper! Hang on, this thing is getting out of control, I probably need some structure. Off to Google it is!
There, you were probably met with a plethora of listicles telling you this, that, and the other about how to make readers feel something for your Main Character (usually shortened to ‘the MC’). The MC, of course, has a detailed backstory and an in-depth bio, which enables you to understand their wants, needs, and what your antagonist needs to do to get up their nose. You may have read up on the Three Act Structure. And there was probably a whole lot of stuff about conflict, stakes, character development, setting, and so on.
But what if you’re one of those people who wanted to do something different? What if you don’t have a Main Character, and your story unfolds through multiple points of view?
That’s certainly where I found myself, and finding tips on how to do this well can be tricky. The best guide I had, really, was by reading novels which do this. So, let’s see if I can distill all of that into some unconventional wisdom.
1. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all
There are many ways in which to do this. If I take a small sample size:
George R.R. Martin titles each of his chapters with the POV he’s writing through, and there is an element of rotation about it.
Robert Jordan started Wheel of time with one POV, before it branched out in keeping with the nature of the story he told.
Steven Erikson uses an insane amount of POVs in Malazan, using whichever he feels is best to tell the story. Some of them last barely half a page.
Ultimately, do what suits you best, but be prepared to break it for the good of the story.
2. You will have a continuity problem
There’s no getting away from it. I won’t say there are things you can’t do, but using a composite cast/plot (yes, there’s a term for it) makes many things harder. Chief among them is continuity. You write a great chapter, get your reader invested in one of your characters, and then… Well you take them off to read about someone else.
This is jarring.
Without character continuity, you need to work harder to plug the gap in other ways. Plot, setting, theme can all be nailed to the floor to varying degrees. You can also cross pollenate certain things to give your reader a reference point.
For example, it can be really interesting to show the reader a POV character through someone else’s eyes. Or you can use certain landmarks, or events.
3. Character is key
Don’t ignore the plot or anything crazy like that, but I believe they key to pulling this off is in the strength of your characters. More specifically, you need quick chracterisation to enable readers to identify with your chracters.
4. Know your timeline
You don’t have to be very precise with your timeline in terms of what goes into the books (in fact, I would recommend against it unless it serves a purpose), but it’s crucial that you know the timeline of events, so you don’t end up with people in two places at once, or people somehow walking 200 miles in a day.
I use a program called Aeon Timeline for this, because I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, but a piece paper will absolutely suffice.
And remember, whenever you mention the time (or even a general time of day/night), you’re putting a line in the sand. Don’t get caught out.
5. Make your characters distinct
I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make with this kind of story is to make your characters too smiliar. For example, when I got a little way into my story, I realised I had three somewhat nihilistic female assassins who were prominent in the story. I made one male, and changed his personality, and I dropped one altogether. That also cut out a lot of fight scenes I didn’t need.
If you’re going to take your reader for a change, at least follow through on it being a change.
I’d also recommend taking a break before jumping POVs. Characters bleeding into one another is a real danger.
6. Know what threads unite your characters
One of the dangers of multiple characters is multiple plot threads. To some degree, that may be the point of doing it in the first place. But they all need something to hang off. In other words, your story still needs a spine.
7. Start narrow, diverge, then bring it back
You can’t start with several distinct plot arcs and hope that your reader is a certified genius capable of holding all this in their head. You need to ease the reader in, so that when they come back to a character, they can recall what was happening last time they were in that POV.
Similarly, you need to bring it all back in at the end so that you aren’t left with all these unresolved, dangling plotlines.
A small note to people writing a series here: You can (and should) push certain plot arcs into the next book in the series, but still offer some resolution in the ‘standalone’ book.
8. Structure can be tricky
I wouldn’t advise abandoning the Three Act Structure, but with a composite plot, it certainly harder to make it work.
What I would say is that your ‘spine’ can/should broadly follow it, but you have all of these characters dipping in and out along the way, who have their own arcs. You may want to introduce a character in the final third of the book, for example. So you’re in the ‘Setup’ phase for the character, but the plot is entering the ‘Climax’ phase.
9. Get feedback
Get other people to read your work (see, there is room for conventional wisdom here).
I have a character called Goris, and about half way through the book, I had three consecutive Goris chapters. I couldn’t escape the feeling he was boring and a bit rubbish. To the point that I ran into a block and it took me two months to break it.
But when I got other people to read the book… Turns out, everyone loves Goris. For balance, people tend not to connect with the character I think is my best.
10. Editing will probably be harder
You probably need a couple of extra edits on top of the usual ones.
You’ll need an edit to place all the chapters in the ‘right’ order (there isn’t a right order, but there is definitely a wrong order) and see if the story works, both in terms of pace and structure. You might find you have gaps, or stuff needs cutting, or some parts are written from the wrong POV.
You’ll also need a ‘consistency edit’. To do this, I read all the POVs from a certain character to make sure it’s consistent, and it works almost as a standalone story.
By consistency, I don’t mean a change of eye colour (that’s easy to catch - write bios). Rather, I make sure it still feels like the same character. Also make sure there is sufficient development in there.
That’s all I have to offer. Hopefully some of it is useful, but feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments - I’m hardly the authority on this! Or drop me a message, always happy to discuss.