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poppyseedheart Got a lovely question on curiouscat about how I decide which character's POV to write in for fic. One of my favorite kinds of question is the kind that makes me explain what is usually a gut check, so let's figure this one out together, haha, because an easy answer doesn't immediately come to mind.
Before I actually answer, I'll clarify that I can think of three different categories of fic re: POV deciding. First: stories where the story is About One Character (e.g. Emma AU was always going to be from Hyunjin's POV! He's Emma!). Those are easy. Second: stories where I just end up using multiple POVs anyway (e.g. i blame myself / i blame you, what's mine is yours). Easier because I "don't have to choose," harder because actually you're just doing more choosing of who tells which parts of the story. And third, which I think speak more to the question: ship stories where it could easily be from either POV because the plot doesn't hinge specifically on one character's arc. I'm mostly going to be discussing the third kind, with splashes of the other two tossed in for style points.
So to frame the conversation: what does POV do?
A lot of things! I'm probably missing some honestly. I don't think about every single point here when I'm deciding but they all factor in at least subconsciously. Some of them speak more to "which person" you're choosing, and others more to "which character within the plot" if that makes sense. E.g. I want to write about idk Sherlock Holmes vs I want to write about the person who puts the pieces together the most quickly out of all of the characters so the reader isn't bored.
The factors I weigh the most are probably growth arc and character study. I like to write about personhood and change and the finicky little internal machinations that make up human nature. Everything else will be impacted regardless of how much you do or don't pay attention to it, though. A brutal truth.
In a story with a particular set plot, especially when that plot is a trope (e.g. the many traditional stages of a fake dating fic), I tend to go for the character who has more to lose and gain emotionally. I love a pining moment. I love a learning moment. Let's yearn baby! I also in general gravitate towards characters who lie/obscure/refuse to say the quiet part out loud. I love the tension between what a character says and thinks and it's one of my favorite ways to evoke characterization and supplement an angsty moment.
The original question also asked about what happens when you have an easier time writing from the character's POV who seems to change/grow less over the course of the story. To that I have two responses that go together.
Another main framing question I'll leave you with (because my advice is actually always a box with a bunch of questions in it, surprise) is this one: What can this POV do that others can't? And what could other POVs do that are missing from this one?
Some more questions:
Whew! I hope that was helpful. Ultimately I do think despite all of this processing a gut-check is going to help you a lot, because you're probably already considering a lot of these aspects. POV is such a fun tricky question because I generally believe there's not a wrong answer as long as you're making decisions intentionally, though I suppose there can be wack choices which don't always work. But hey, shoot for the moon.
Best of luck with writing! As ever I hope this is helpful and would love to hear how other people make these decisions in the comments. Feel free to agree with or heckle me. Or both. <3
Before I actually answer, I'll clarify that I can think of three different categories of fic re: POV deciding. First: stories where the story is About One Character (e.g. Emma AU was always going to be from Hyunjin's POV! He's Emma!). Those are easy. Second: stories where I just end up using multiple POVs anyway (e.g. i blame myself / i blame you, what's mine is yours). Easier because I "don't have to choose," harder because actually you're just doing more choosing of who tells which parts of the story. And third, which I think speak more to the question: ship stories where it could easily be from either POV because the plot doesn't hinge specifically on one character's arc. I'm mostly going to be discussing the third kind, with splashes of the other two tossed in for style points.
So to frame the conversation: what does POV do?
- Establishes our narrative voice—depending on how close your POV is, can have a huge impact on tone (I felt this most acutely with my "playing a losing game" series recently, every part is tonally different from the others but especially the last one)
- Usually identifies who we're rooting for the most
- Sets us up to anticipate a growth arc of some kind
- Frames what we know and how we know it
- Offers an opportunity for internal character study (on the flipside, non-POV characters offer opportunities for external character study, aka looking at someone and waxing poetic through ur pov character)
A lot of things! I'm probably missing some honestly. I don't think about every single point here when I'm deciding but they all factor in at least subconsciously. Some of them speak more to "which person" you're choosing, and others more to "which character within the plot" if that makes sense. E.g. I want to write about idk Sherlock Holmes vs I want to write about the person who puts the pieces together the most quickly out of all of the characters so the reader isn't bored.
The factors I weigh the most are probably growth arc and character study. I like to write about personhood and change and the finicky little internal machinations that make up human nature. Everything else will be impacted regardless of how much you do or don't pay attention to it, though. A brutal truth.
In a story with a particular set plot, especially when that plot is a trope (e.g. the many traditional stages of a fake dating fic), I tend to go for the character who has more to lose and gain emotionally. I love a pining moment. I love a learning moment. Let's yearn baby! I also in general gravitate towards characters who lie/obscure/refuse to say the quiet part out loud. I love the tension between what a character says and thinks and it's one of my favorite ways to evoke characterization and supplement an angsty moment.
The original question also asked about what happens when you have an easier time writing from the character's POV who seems to change/grow less over the course of the story. To that I have two responses that go together.
- First: seeing growth happen from an outside POV can be equally satisfying if you really commit! It's fun to watch someone else change and to see what changes the POV character notices are happening (versus ones that surprise them) and that's a perfectly good way to ground a story IMO.
- Second: we are all changing all the time, frankly. An unsplashy growth arc can still be a growth arc, even if it's not being shouted from the rooftops. This character will change in some way from story start to finish. An easy way to frame that is: what new thing(s) did they learn, and what will they do with that new knowledge? Something something personality integration.
- Second the second: this all goes double if your character is in their teens or twenties. The "who am I really" question is one you can give most characters most times and yield something interesting.
Another main framing question I'll leave you with (because my advice is actually always a box with a bunch of questions in it, surprise) is this one: What can this POV do that others can't? And what could other POVs do that are missing from this one?
- It's essential to wonder about this as you're writing, IMO. What is being missed? Because it's always something, and if you're paying attention to that then you'll be able to leverage it in your favor to tell a more interesting story.
- Sometimes the character with the Best understanding of the situation is not the best POV. If you're writing in a world/setting the reader is unfamiliar with, a newcomer/outsider will be an easier entrypoint to explaining the intricacies of your world, for example. A miscommunication plot might demand the more oblivious character's POV to uphold the skeleton of the plot.
- I like to think a lot about little backstory moments for the POV character that you can use in metaphors, so considering background can be helpful too.
Some more questions:
- Do these characters feel the same way about each other? How can I highlight the differences in their feelings?
- Could exploring multiple POVs in this story work or would it be confusing/distracting?
- Where does the story end and begin?
- How am I defining change/growth?
- What are this character's hobbies? (This one is not super relevant to the topic of this post I'm just always nagging people about giving their characters hobbies (and friends))
- How can I make this character shine in this story? How about their love interest?
Whew! I hope that was helpful. Ultimately I do think despite all of this processing a gut-check is going to help you a lot, because you're probably already considering a lot of these aspects. POV is such a fun tricky question because I generally believe there's not a wrong answer as long as you're making decisions intentionally, though I suppose there can be wack choices which don't always work. But hey, shoot for the moon.
Best of luck with writing! As ever I hope this is helpful and would love to hear how other people make these decisions in the comments. Feel free to agree with or heckle me. Or both. <3
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