Two perspectives

I say yes. The reader will quickly pick up on the format. The only caveat I see is, when you're writing a "guy" chapter (third POV), it might be easy to slip into the gal's (or some other characters's) perspective. That error would be more apparent when writing a "gal" chapter.

Good luck with it.

I just wanted to chime in and say that as personal preference as a reader, I can't stand two first person POVs in the same novel, especially romance.

And I write in first myself (and third) and don't mind the POV in general in the slightest. The problem I've had with the novels I've read in alternating first is that they did a poor job of distinguishing between the POVs, and it was often not clear whose POV you were in. They didn't switch off regularly by chapter, or put headers in for clarity, or anything. You were just suddenly, section by section, in another POV. Or maybe the original one. Hard to say.

Just make it clear when you alternate.

I went with first and third for mine WIP. It works for my story, and it was the girl's head I much more needed to get into. But what works best for yours?

When switching POVs, btw, I try to start the new POV section with the POV-character's name close to the beginning of the first line, preferably performing some action. This helps orient the reader, I think.

Good luck.

bananamelissa said:

Any thoughts or personal tastes on this?

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If you use two first-person POVs, make sure the voices are very distinct.

tbh, I prefer both in third. I can think of very few examples of books with both third and first person. I like Joshilyn Jackson, and she has at least 2 books that do this, but I would hate for most things I read to be written this way. It really sticks out to me whenever I see it because it's rather unusual (at least in the sort of things I read) and I find it a bit jarring too.

I recently read a book where both hero and heroine were in first person, and it alternated between chapters. Even though the POV character's name was given under the chapter heading, it still took a couple pages to orient myself at the beginning of each chapter. Probably in part because the voices weren't distinct enough, in that case. And I might not have minded so much if the chapters weren't so short.

BethS said:

If you use two first-person POVs, make sure the voices are very distinct.

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This, and even if you use 1st and 3rd.

While I could see first and third working, I would find it hard to do in a way that made the stories equal. And if you're going to split the book between them, I'd want each story to be balanced. I wrote a similar thing and did each in third - seemed to make it 'their' story, and not 'her' story with some stuff on him thrown in. Good luck!

My personal least favorite is two 1st person POVs. That doesn't mean I won't read it, I just prefer either both in 3rd, or one 1st and one 3rd.

And ditto to the above, make sure each voice is distinctive.

I've recently read a few books where the POV shifts - and in my opinion, sometimes it does too much. But if it's alternate chapters and the reader definitely knows 'whose head' the POV is coming from, then why not?

I thought the novel Gone Girl did a really nice job of this.

If you want an example of how not to handle different POVs, No Country For Old Men is a good one. At least two third-person POVs and every chapter starts with a 'he' doing something. You have to read several paragraphs before you find out which 'he' it is this time, then read back. Not a book I'd read again, the utterly miserable plot aside.

I also read a highly-rated book a few months ago - as an ARC copy; it just came out - in which the POV changes with every chapter; minor characters get a chapter or two; the POV changes from first to third; and chapters are written as happening both in the present and past.

A nightmare to read.

Time jumps are very difficult to convey well, especially when they're being conveyed by different characters. I feel as though I've read at least one book that manages to pull it off, but no title comes to mind.

I don't read romance too often so take this comment as you will. But if you have two main characters and one of them is written in first person and the other is third person, my gut feeling is the story is really about the first person voice and you should only dip into the third person guy for dramatic or plot reasons. The ratio of First Person chapters should be really high. It's not impossible to balance them but it would need skillful writing in both POVs.

Pov shifts are usually done at scene breaks or chapter breaks. If it's in first person, it can be a bit harder to get whose pov you're in immediately, unless the situation or the voice is extremely character specific. Most writers I've run across who have multi first person povs will have the name of the pov character at the beginning of the chapter or scene.

With limited third, it's easier to differentiate by using the name of the pov character early in the scene and describing something that makes it clear we're seeing things through that person's eyes.

Third person is my preferred person. I sometimes read first person, but it isn't my second favorite person. When I've read something that jumps from first to third and back again, I am irritated at every jump. Irritation is not my favorite frame of mind.

I've read multi first person povs that I like immensely. I don't really have a "favorite" when it comes to limited third or first. It depends on what works best for the story.

I guess I've never read a book in first and thought, "I'd like this so much better if it were in limited third," or vice versa. The story either grabs me as it's written or it doesn't.

I've only read one book that alternated between first person and third person, Emily Giffen's Heart of the Matter, and I thought it was really interesting. I've tried it out myself in fan fiction and it does have a neat effect of letting the reader have a different experience getting into the head of each character - there is a bit more distance with the 3rd person POV.

You're going to find a lot of personal preference in this so I would go with whatever you personally prefer. There are a lot of people who hate first person period but most of my favourite books have used it.