Question

[icepixie]

Say you're reading something, and it starts out in third-person, but limited to one person's POV. You hear only their thoughts, feelings, and observations as they move through the landscape of the story. Essentially, it is a first-person story told with third-person pronouns. Given this, would it bother you to have a couple of scenes in the middle that are from another person's POV? Would it jar you out of the story?

[Poll #951461]
Assuming I ever finish the piece for which I'm asking this question (shockingly, it's looking almost likely at this point), any issues will probably be hammered out in beta, but I just thought I'd do a general poll. At the moment, I've got six scenes on this fic, and the fourth one is from the other character's POV. I of course like all the scenes I've written so far, and I don't want to change them. I'm kind of thinking that the POV change might work thematically, because the characters are going from one character's world to the other's, and eventually the first character adapts, mostly, to that world. So we start off with Character A's world and POV, move to Character B's, and then return to Character A's, which has changed fairly dramatically over the course of the story.

(Okay, if you haven't figured it out by now, given my non-stop recent chatter and the icon I'm using, Character A is Thatcher, Character B is Fraser, and they're out in the Yukon for reasons that are too complicated to explain right at the moment.)

Thoughts?

ETA: Bah, LJ code. Ignore that blank last option. Unless of course your thoughts really can be summarized with a hyphen.

Comments

[rensong.livejournal.com]

As long as there is some form of separation between the POVs - as in, a physical pause of some sort, be it an empty line between the paragraphs or something textual like * or --- or my personal favorite ~*~ - it doesn't tend to bother me much. However, when there *is* no separation, just one paragraph your in one POV and the next your in someone elses', *then* it bugs me to the point where I might stop reading the story, no matter how good it is. Not always, mind, but there have been a few times in which I stopped reading entirely when thats happened. I am extremely picky about the quality of the story-telling.

[icepixie]

However, when there *is* no separation, just one paragraph your in one POV and the next your in someone elses', *then* it bugs me to the point where I might stop reading the story, no matter how good it is.

Oh, lord yes. I hate that. The piece I'm writing definitely has a break in between the POVs. They're very much separate scenes.

[elflore.livejournal.com]

I really can throw no stones on this one--I'm sure you remember I've done the same myself!

And the reason for it which you outline makes perfect sense.

[icepixie]

Hee. :)

And the reason for it which you outline makes perfect sense.

That's good!

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

I agree with the above (which I... can't see right now, thanks, LJ) - just needs some physical separation on the page. (Plus a plausible excuse, of course, but it sounds like you've got that already.)

And my thoughts can always be summarized through cunning use of hyphens.

[icepixie]

And my thoughts can always be summarized through cunning use of hyphens.

Not to mention the cunning use of flags.

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

Do *you* have a flag?

[icepixie]

*waves Jolly Roger*

*also waves Canadian flag in icon*

[alto2.livejournal.com]

As long as you're separating it by scene, or making clear that you've made the shift, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm contemplating the same thing with my novel, which for the first 179 pages is all through one character's eyes, but once there's some distance between the two main characters, I'm not sure if I can reasonably maintain that single POV. And if I can't, I probably have to go back and add scenes to the first part from the other POV, which I really don't want to do...ack ack ack!

Anyway, you're probably not going to be writing a novel here, so that probably doesn't apply ;) I'd say it sounds like it'll be okay.

[icepixie]

And if I can't, I probably have to go back and add scenes to the first part from the other POV, which I really don't want to do...ack ack ack!

Eeeek. I hate adding new scenes to stuff I've already written. Well, unless I've already left space for them, which I do a lot. (I am sooo ADD when I write. Half the time I wind up writing the ending first, then the beginning, and then scenes scattershot throughout the middle that I have to go back and link up.)

Anyway, you're probably not going to be writing a novel here

Oh, god, I hope not! *shudders* No, this is firmly in 7,000-8,000-word territory here, I think. Nothing ridiculous.