Two protagonists or one in a short novel?

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rquinlivan

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I'm writing a short sci-fi/fantasy novel and I am considering using two protagonists, alternating viewpoints every chapter. The two characters will meet at a point about 65% of the way through the story, then part ways for a bit before the ending brings them back together.

I am curious if the more experienced writers think this is an advisable structure. My instinct is that I would be able to build some tension in the story by having each of these perspectives show a little bit more of the nefarious villains lurking just under the woodwork, and by contrasting the two protagonists (one is a naïve adolescent, the other is a cynical grown man) I could drive home some of the themes more forcefully without resorting to fable-like expositional extemporizing. I am more used to writing short stories where multiple POV characters is verboten, so I appreciate the breathing room that a novel length gives me to contrast multiple POVs.

On the other hand, it makes the story a little harder to pull off. These have to be very distinct POV character voices. The risk, I think, is that readers may cling to one POV as the relatable "main character" and the other guy feels like a drag on the story, a boring unimportant aside that interrupts every other chapter to give us some secondary perspective. So both have to have their own redeeming qualities and need to have unique motivations. For plotting, you need to weave together these two threads and keep them close enough that you can bring them together after 150-odd pages, which could be limiting for the characters. (E.g., you can't have Character A go fight the big bad guy while Character B travels across the world to do something else!)

Any thoughts? Can you point out some sf/fantasy novels that use a similar structure that are good examples? Any that are *bad* examples? I know epic fantasy is known for using a handful of POVs but I'm trying to keep this project short, around 90k max, so I would prefer to compare with books of that length.

Thanks so much,
~ rq
 

Motley

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I don't believe there is any problem with using multiple POV main characters in any type of novel, as long as you do it well. But that last clause holds true for anything you do in a story.

Make each interesting and unique and you're fine.
 

JRBrule

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My main concern here would be boredom for the reader, same as you. I suspect you could avoid boredom by keeping your plot lines in check. That is, make absolute certain both characters are facing equal challenges. If this sounds difficult, that's because it is--you're combining the worth of two separate books into one. But if this is your vision, and you execute it with both skill and critical thought, the payoff could be a single story as hard-hitting as two. Twice as memorable. Good luck.
 

kdaniel171

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As far as your multiple POV characters arouse interest of the readers, it's absolutely fine to contrast them in every chapter. Still, keeping attention focused on both characters equally can be difficult, so no sagging plot!
 

Jamesaritchie

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It's not SF/fantasy, but one of my favorite novels uses this structure. The two protagonists are brothers, they both have their problems, and get together at roughly the same spot yours will. Until they get together, the POV alternates chapters.

This structure really isn't at all uncommon. I've never used it at novel length, but I have at novelette length.
I think it's actually easier than following one protagonist, and certainly easier than following four, or five, or six, like many novels do.

Have you ever read Lonesome Dove? It's a Pulitzer prize winner, and one of my very favorite novels, but I can't even remember how many POV characters it uses, all of whom are separated by considerable distance for a good part of the novel.

Having readers cling to one POV as the "main" character is not a bad thing. This, too, is normal in most novels.

Two things worry me in your approach. One is saying both POV characters need to be very distant? Why? It's tough to keep readers interest when there is no close POV. The other is that you may be writing too much character, and too little story. If one character is dragging everything down, this is probably the cause.

Different perspectives can be a great thing, but every perspective needs serious involvement, serious story, or who cares?
 

Fantomas

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I'm a big fan of multiple POVs, which is the main reason I prefer third person narration. I think have two protagonists is absolutely fine so long as every scene with them is contributing to the advancement of the plot. As JBrule mentioned, make sure they are both facing challenges so the narrator doesn't get bored during one or the other character's POV.

Technically, you don't *have* to have them meet, but it would feel like a cheat if they didn't.
 

rwm4768

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I'd have no issue with a short novel using two POV characters. If you start adding more than that, however, it might get difficult to give them enough page time.

Also, you don't have to alternate every chapter. I've read a lot of books that have suffered from the author's need to have a consistent pattern like that. You should pick the POV character for a scene based on which character has the most at stake in that scene. A strict alternating pattern can also lead to filler.

If you're going to stick to that pattern, I suggest being open to varying chapter lengths. If a chapter only needs to be two pages, write it that way. Don't fill the space just because you feel Character 1 and Character 2 need equal treatment.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I'd have no issue with a short novel using two POV characters. If you start adding more than that, however, it might get difficult to give them enough page time.

Also, you don't have to alternate every chapter. I've read a lot of books that have suffered from the author's need to have a consistent pattern like that. You should pick the POV character for a scene based on which character has the most at stake in that scene. A strict alternating pattern can also lead to filler.

If you're going to stick to that pattern, I suggest being open to varying chapter lengths. If a chapter only needs to be two pages, write it that way. Don't fill the space just because you feel Character 1 and Character 2 need equal treatment.

You don't have to alternate chapters, but I think it's the best way by far, if you really want both these characters to be of equal importance.
 

Umber

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I don't see anything wrong with your idea. The fact that the two protagonist are going to have really different voice/perspective is a good thing. I know a lot of readers who complain about different POV's that all sound the same, and don't really add anything to the story(ex: Allegiant-3rd novel in the divergent series).

And as the rest have said, there are so many books with multiple points of view that work really well.
 
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