POV question

Reformed Gypsy

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I have been working on a short story that is told almost exclusively from the female character's point of view One passage, however, needs to be told from the male's POV. It doesn't feel balanced but the reader needs the information revealed in that section. Should I add more content from his POV or should I not sweat it.
 

Osulagh

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I guess not sweat it if you have nothing else to add.

Although, do you really need the switch? Can't you reveal that info through some other means?
 

Reformed Gypsy

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Haven't thought of a way yet. The female character can't know the "big secret" so I can't have her overhear the conversation. Ack. Well, at least it's all in third person so the shift isn't horribly jarring.
 

Viridian

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This might be one of those questions only a beta can answer for you. If there's only one short section from his POV... that is unusual, but it's not a problem.

If you don't mind me asking, what's the secret? Maybe we can help you find a way to reveal it without leaving her POV. It's tough to give information to the reader without letting the POV character know, but it can be done.
 
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c.m.n.

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Is the reason you need to be in the male's POV to give away pieces of the "big secret"? If that's the case, then figuring out a way to keep it in the female's POV would be better or you'll spoil that "big secret" for your readers.
 

DancingMaenid

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What type of information needs to be shared with the reader, and is it really important that the reader knows it? Sometimes you can infer a lot through foreshadowing and happenings that the MC doesn't quite get the significance of, but that readers might see as significant.

I think switching to another character's POV like this can work sometimes, but it depends on how it's done.
 

Maryn

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I'm not saying it can't be done, and well, but I'm not a fan of this approach. It seems like the easiest way, sure, but for me as a reader, it's going to be quite jarring to be yanked from the female POV character's experience to be thrust into the dude's in order for him to reveal something.

There are a lot of ways to reveal his Big Thing--pun unintended, but this is the Erotica board--without breaking POV. The best way to see a bunch of them, well executed, is to read a first-person mystery novel. The detective or private eye eventually gets all the secret information s/he needs to put together the puzzle, yet they never once break POV.

I highly recommend any of Lawrence Block's "The Burglar Who..." series, Robert Parker's "Spenser" series, or Harlan Coben's "Myron Bolitar" series, for starters, although there are literally hundreds of well-executed first-person mysteries out there. They're pleasurable reads, but if you pay attention to how information reaches the POV character and the reader, they're educational as well.

Maryn, who likes mystery
 

Reformed Gypsy

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All GREAT suggestions, so here is a little more detail. The two characters are actors portraying police officers and partners on a tv series. A series of events lead up to a climactic (puns are easy on this board) moment as they are filming a love scene for that week's episode. The feigned sex becomes actual sex, and an act of revenge on the part of the MC.
The one passage I have from his POV is when he delivers a payoff to the episode's director for the part he played in making the love scene part of the show. The reader also sees the MC's mixed emotions over what has just occurred. He is regretful but pride overrules all.
This scene takes place at very near the end of the story.

I love the idea of inferring. As the two characters are talking at the very end, I suppose the director could interrupt and thank the MC for his "gift."
If the added info sparks any more brilliant thoughts, please let me know. Thank you!
 

dangerousbill

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One passage, however, needs to be told from the male's POV. It doesn't feel balanced but the reader needs the information revealed in that section. Should I add more content from his POV or should I not sweat it.

A single passage from a different point of view is bound to seem unbalanced and even confusing. It's almost always possible to convey the needed information some other way: a letter, an as-told-to, in the reactions of the POV character, etc.

Is there a way of bypassing the need for the information at all?
 

Reformed Gypsy

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I knew I should change it and you all confirmed my suspicion. I rewrote it tonight and I think it works. The only thing it lost was the opportunity to show the MC's conflicting emotions. BUT I as able to add an element I didn't have before, so a decent tradeoff.
Thanks all!
 

Filigree

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Good luck! Sometimes, what we see as limitations on our writing are really inspirations.

In a fantasy novel I'm rewriting, I needed to add the female protagonist's POV, and make her less of a side character (the book had been focused on her husband's POV). Now I am seeing whole other aspects to the story just from her take on events.
 

Reformed Gypsy

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Funny how making one change can snowball. I changed a character's name and she started speaking french (I do not) and she took over half the plot lol.