How To Write Multiple POVs in Short Fiction Sometimes Multiple-Personalities Aren’t A Disorder

by Shikhar Dixit

So, how many voices are bouncing around in your head? Do you unexpectedly find 18th century philosophers or medieval tyrants speaking in unfamiliar accents through your mouth? Are you sometimes a nine-year-old girl named Martha, or, from time to time, do you find yourself singing "Jailhouse Rock" with the utter conviction that you wrote it? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then perhaps you should seek out the counsel of an expensive therapist.

But what about your short story? How many personalities are demanding to be the center of your reader's attention? One? Three? Fifty-seven? And if the answer is more than one...do your story need professional help?

Well, not necessarily. But suppose you "DO" need help. Consider this a free consultation at the POV Clinic.

POV refers to the "Point-of-View" from which your story is being told and/or experienced, or the character whose thoughts, emotions, and senses dictate the tone and mood of your story's events. The main question when considering your short story's mental health is, "How many points of view are too many?" If you are one of those writers whose previous reading experience consists mainly of novels, you may automatically tend to include a myriad of POVs in their short work.

But where do you draw the line? The popular opinion seems to be that no more than one" point-of-view" character is effective in a short story. Many editors feel that breaking this rule makes your story a kind of literary Sybil (you know, the girl who had sixteen distinct personalities.) In general, this is true, simply because it takes an abundance of words to make a reader comfortable and familiar with your story's protagonist. A story of 500-3,000 words doesn't leave a whole lot of room for back-story and character introduction. If an author indulges in 250 words of intro, that's already the first double-spaced page of his/her manuscript--one-sixth of the story! Editors are unlikely to put up with more background or fleshing-out than that. A busy fiction editor simply doesn't have the time to give your story the therapy is needs. Likely, his own therapy already eats up too much of his editing time. If your story does not begin with--and return quickly to—“the action,” it is likely to be bundled of to the nearest institution...the wastebasket.

Okay, but what of stories ranging from 3,000-10,000 words? Must the one-POV rule be adhered to at all costs? Perhaps four to five POVs can work in a short story--"if your reader is willing to slog through repeated introductions!" Think how tedious it might be to begin a story, then 250 words in, "begin it again. And again." Constantly tugging your reader's attention away from the plot to introduce new characters can get your story into the discard pile--and your reader into the nuthouse--before he/she hits the last paragraph.

This is not to say that it isn't possible. It is merely tricky. The key is to tie these multiple POVs together in a unique and constantly engaging manner. The character traits and personality quirks in your protagonists also need to be delivered throughout the course of the story. A good way to achieve this is to directly acknowledge your 1st POV character's (ostensibly your protagonist) experience through the eyes of all following POV characters. In other words, make sure your personalities are all aware of each other.

Here's an example:

FIRST POV

Dawn flipped her auburn tresses out of her face so she would not be distracted from her handiwork. The blazing building before her had gone up just as she had expected, perfectly on schedule, and maximally destructive. It was just the coup-de-grace she'd been craving. And what better way to inform the monsters within the building that she was no longer going to play by civilized rules. Why should she? The monsters themselves violated ALL rules to get what they wanted!

No, Dawn had a new method now. She dropped the detonator-remote to the asphalt and crushed it under her boot-heel. No matter that she stood amongst a crowd of on-lookers, the remote was so small that it would resemble and extinguished cigarette from any distance. Besides, she felt certain that the trenchcoat effectively masked her in anonymity.

Besides, if someone noticed her, if anyone connected her to the fire, here and now--well--you can't make an omelet....

SECOND POV

Ratso emerged from the alley and recognized the source of the orange glow for what it was--the destruction of the Northstar Motion Picture Company's headquarters. The entire building was consumed, no doubt. Furthermore, Ratso knew from his inability to contact any of his employers or co-workers that they were all dead. It had been a surgical strike; he could see that much. All the children had been moved to the secondary set for the forest sequence. The cleaning and maintenance staff had long since been sent home.

Primary projects' staff don't work this late. All of the casualties would be NMPC people--and only those at work on the classified film project. Whoever did this--they were definitely targeting the classified project.

And it was Ratso's job to protect that project.

He swore under his breath, with just the barest hint of a scowl. He had no great love for those child-molesting pornographers, but there was his professional reputation to protect. How had anyone gotten past his security measures and managed this annihilation?

Who could it be?

The street was filled with medical personnel, police, newsmen, and onlookers. There was no way to comb this throng without drawing attention to himself. He would have to proceed another way.

THIRD POV

"All right," Lieutenant James Gross hollered, "Canvas this scene and get everyone's name. No one leaves this scene without leaving his or her name, address, and phone number. Check licenses. That includes press people and medical personnel. I'm certain this creep is somewhere out here."

Only one thing--James wasn't really all that certain. But he disliked leaving stones unturned. The job looked professional, so he suspected the arsonist was long gone. Who would target an independent film company? It made little sense on the surface, but if James had learned one thing during his twenty years of police work, it was that nothing ever really made sense until you'd caught and interviewed the perp.

The challenge, then, was for James to find the perp. Don't worry about motive now--motive's for the lawyers. Follow the evidence and "leave no stone unturned."

He surveyed the ruckus as bystanders finally stirred. As officers branched out into the crowd to interview possible witnesses--to "canvas" the whole damn street--people attempted to leave. “They wanted to watch the show,” James thought, "but they sure weren't interested in taking part in it."

Amidst the stirring masses, he noticed one lone figure who did not try to flee, did not move but for the flapping of his massive trench coat. “Now there's a solid citizen,” James thought “Definitely not your average gawker. Publicity seeker, maybe?” He crossed the tarmac to question the man himself.

It was not until he was within ten yards that he realized it was a woman...and that he recognized her. It was the mother from one month ago.The frantic woman whose son had been murdered. The one who had the breakdown. "The homicide I failed to solve."

And she was smiling.

Here, three POV characters have been introduced. They are interacting with the scene, i.e., a burning building that has just exploded. Notice how the second POV character and the third POV character "intersect" by sharing the experience. 640 words were used to introduce and place these three characters, to deliver some basic background information about each person, and to set up the action. The story also begins with a compelling situation--arson--and sufficient foreshadowing of not one, but at least two confrontations yet to come: a) the Dawn-Ratso confrontation and b) the James-Dawn confrontation. Now there is something for the reader to follow--a thread that arrives well within 100 words of each introduction.

From here on out, the story will flow through a series of "intersections," told alternately by each of the POV characters. In other words, the story is relatively sane.

It is still best to pursue one POV character per story where possible, but if you're itching to flex your literary wrist, or you've got more than one character you find yourself unusually committed to, then remember that the action of the story must not be sacrificed. Tie all of your characters together with shared experiences, and use them to enlighten the reader about each other "throughout" the story.

Otherwise, your story may end up straight-jacketed and permanently medicated in a forgotten ward of the "to read later" pile.

--SD

© 2000, Shikhar Dixit

Shikhar Dixit is a New Jersey based writer/illustrator whose work has appeared in such venues as Barnes & Noble's 100 Crafty Little Cat Crimes, Barnes & Noble's 365 Scary Stories, Outer Darkness, Mindmares, E-Scape, Eternity Online, Not One of Us, Dark Regions, and a host of other magazines. Shikhar is currently at work on his first novel.