One-Time POV

Edgar A. · Dec 12, 2014

Hey guys!

So, in a novel that I've been tinkering with for a while I have three main characters. These switch from chapter to chapter (close third person), and while they are all in the same story, they are all on different paths and cause different issues that injure or help the others. Nothing too original there.

My question is: is it okay to have one-off chapters set in a strange POV.

Sometimes, I want to illuminate something happening elsewhere in the world that will have consequences for the MCs, but without any of them being nearby. Say, for example, the hatching of a murder plot against one of them by the 'big bad.' Is it okay to have a single chapter in a new POV that will never resurface? (To clarify, the characters used do return and play an important role, they are just not the focal point of other chapters.)

Keep warm, stay cool,
Edgar A.

Roxxsmom · Dec 12, 2014

The answer really is "it depends," but personally, I tend to find "one off" pov characters a bit jarring. Won't make me chuck the book, necessarily, but I may lose my train of immersion if it feels like the writer just used a single pov to show me something I didn't really need to see or that could have been revealed in some other way.

If you think it's needed, I'd probably just write your first draft with it in, then decide upon rewriting/editing if you still think you have to have it. And of course, critiquing partners can weigh in also.

Edgar A. · Dec 12, 2014

Roxxsmom said:
The answer really is "it depends," but personally, I tend to find "one off" pov characters a bit jarring. Won't make me chuck the book, necessarily, but I may lose my train of immersion if it feels like the writer just used a single pov to show me something I didn't really need to see or that could have been revealed in some other way.

If you think it's needed, I'd probably just write your first draft with it in, then decide upon rewriting/editing if you still think you have to have it. And of course, critiquing partners can weigh in also.

Makes some sense. I guess if I spend more time thinking about it, I could find a way to hint at the events before hand and let them come as a twist, of sorts. Though I don't like pulling out the ol' Deus Ex trick.

Layla Lawlor · Dec 12, 2014

I've tried that, but then I always find myself removing the "spare" POV in revisions and finding a way to work those events into the other characters' viewpoints (kind of like Roxxsmom was saying). To me it feels jarring. Which doesn't mean it might not be right for your story ...!

Jamesaritchie · Dec 13, 2014

Anything is all right, if there's a reason for it, and it's done well enough. I'd be careful about what you want to do, though. The urge to show something happening elsewhere is all too common in manuscripts from new writers, and it rarely, if ever, works.

Dennis E. Taylor · Dec 13, 2014

I've seen it done many times. One that immediately comes to mind (and I haven't had enough coffee yet, so I'm thankful I can even type right now) is 1632, where there are exactly two chapters (IIRC) centering on Cardinal Richelieu, who is a country away from the rest of the cast.

As others have said, you can always change it. You may find a better way to get where you want. But if you do it right, it works fine.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 13, 2014

Angry Guy said:
I've seen it done many times. One that immediately comes to mind (and I haven't had enough coffee yet, so I'm thankful I can even type right now) is 1632, where there are exactly two chapters (IIRC) centering on Cardinal Richelieu, who is a country away from the rest of the cast.

As others have said, you can always change it. You may find a better way to get where you want. But if you do it right, it works fine.

I haven't read 1632 since it came out, but wasn't the entire story structured that way, with constant switches in POV, and many of them?

Michael Davis · Dec 14, 2014

Depends on both the publisher and editor. Across 20 releases I've had six editors. Each allowed me different flexibility as long as it did not violate publisher rules. Per your question, I've used that approach to introduce both sub plots and background elements the H/H would not know and have never been told to alter, but that's up to the editor and publisher.

TheRob1 · Dec 14, 2014

I've had several similar situations, so here's my advice: write the scene and leave it in, for now. You can always delete it or expand the POV later. Also once the scene is fully written andyou know how the events play out, you may figure out a better way to deal with thescene later.

rwm4768 · Dec 14, 2014

If you do it well, it can work. The problem is most novice writers don't do it so well.

Some of my favorite chapters in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive are this type of POV (or one that gets maybe two or three in the whole book). Of course, he titles these sections as interludes. They don't always seem connected to the story, but they reveal different aspects of the world and conflicts that are interesting to see.

Of course, you should note that Sanderson's debut did not include one-off points of view. That's the kind of thing you often get more freedom to do once you've established yourself as a writer.

IDGS · Jan 15, 2015

I actually really enjoy both writing and reading the weird one-off POV's.

Sometimes it's just fun to play with another person outside of your main cast for a while. Sometimes you realize it was more of a tool to move everything else along and flesh out your plot a bit more, and delete it.

Sometimes it provides an interesting outside perspective on a mainly introspective character that the reader wouldn't otherwise have considered. I mean, the character is running around trying to save the world, but what is that lady at the grocery store thinking when the MC runs by in tatters chased by a turkey before the explosions start happening? Shit example, but you know what I mean.

If it contributes, it works. If it's superfluous, cut it.

screenscope · Jan 15, 2015

I used multiple POVs in my novel and was surprised when one reviewer actually counted them - there are 26! Most of them have infrequent input and several are one-offs.

It's not a problem as long as your readers know exactly what's going on. Same as any other aspect of writing, really.

bellabar · Jan 15, 2015

Most of my story is told in alternating third person POV between my male and female MCs. One chapter is told in first, from the MMC POV, and is essentially back story, separated by about five years from the rest of the story. At the moment I think it works but part of me wonders if the reason I haven't incorporated it into the pre-existing structure is because it perhaps is not meant to be there at all and will be removed in edits.
I think it's more likely to be noticed if it is a one off event with everything else falling into a pattern. Constant POV change as screenscope has is a slightly different thing.

One-Time POV

Edgar A.

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

Edgar A.

Layla Lawlor

Jamesaritchie

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

Jamesaritchie

Michael Davis

TheRob1

Trained by the soft master

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW

IDGS

@LeaveItToIan

screenscope

bellabar

figuring it all out