#multiple views

[dizzyteengirl]

As days go on and I find different jobs I want to be and who I want to become I always fall back to journalism.

[theliteraryarchitect]

5 Reasons NOT to Use Multiple Point of View (and What to Do Instead)

I've been meaning to make this post for a long time. As a developmental editor, I see a LOT of manuscripts that use multiple point of view (where each scene or chapter is from the perspective of a different character), when they really should be using a classic single character POV. Over the years, I've come to the conclusion that writers see multiple POV as a solution to problems that really shouldn't be solved that way. Basically, they're using it for the wrong reasons. And when that happens, instead of making the story more awesome, multiple POV can actually weaken it.

Here are five of the most common reasons writers choose multiple POV (and why those reasons might be a problem). Don’t worry—I’ll also share what to do instead.

1. You Don’t Know What Your Story Is About

Sometimes, when writers aren’t 100% clear on their story’s main conflict, theme, or plot, they reach for multiple POV. It feels like a fix—after all, why focus on one perspective when you can try out a little of this and a little of that?

Here’s the thing: multiple POV actually requires you to be more clear about your story, not less. Readers will naturally look for a thread that ties all the perspectives together, and if that thread isn’t there, the story will feel scattered or aimless.

What to Do Instead: Take a step back. If you’re feeling unsure about what your story is really about, try some journaling or outlining. Ask yourself:

What’s the main conflict?

Who’s the central character?

Why am I telling this story?

Often, writers discover they actually have one protagonist, and a limited third or first-person perspective would work better. If you still feel like multiple POV is the right call, go for it! Just be sure to periodically revisit your outline to make sure the story hasn’t “gotten away” from you. (Multiple POV has a sneaky way of doing that.)

2. You Haven’t Developed Your Characters

Multiple POV doesn’t work unless each character is fully developed. Every POV character needs their own voice, journey, and reason for being in the story. If they can’t stand on their own, readers will notice.

What to Do Instead: Before assigning a POV, ask yourself:

Is this character compelling enough to hold the reader’s attention?

Do they add something essential to the story that no one else can?

If the answer is no, it might be better to stick with a single POV. Sometimes less is more.

3. You Can’t Decide on a POV Character

This one is common, especially in early drafts. You’re still figuring out your story, and it’s hard to choose whose perspective should take center stage.

What to Do Instead: Experiment! Write key scenes from different characters’ perspectives. Often, the strongest voice will make itself known as you go. And remember: just because you write a draft with multiple POV doesn’t mean you can’t narrow it down later.

4. You Need to Share Information Your POV Character Doesn’t Have

Ah, the classic "But how do I show this thing the protagonist doesn’t know?" dilemma. This is probably the most common reason I see writers reach for multiple POV. It’s tempting to throw in a chapter or two from another character’s perspective just to share that extra bit of information.

The problem? Those chapters often feel disconnected from the rest of the story. Every POV character needs to carry their weight, and dropping in a random narrator just for convenience can leave readers feeling unsatisfied.

What to Do Instead: There are other ways to get information across. Here are a few ideas:

Educated Guesses: Let your main character speculate. (“Iris kept tapping her pencil on the desk. Was she nervous about the meeting earlier?”)

Show, Don’t Tell: Use actions, dialogue, or other clues to reveal what another character might be thinking.

Bring in a New Element: Introduce a third character, a conflict, or even an object that reveals something important.

Overhearing or Spying: Yes, it’s a little cliché, but when used sparingly, it can work in a pinch.

5. You’re Looking for an Easy Way Out

Let’s be honest: multiple POV can feel like a catch-all solution to tough storytelling problems. Need to fix pacing? Add another POV! Can’t figure out how to make the ending work? Add another POV!

But here’s the truth: multiple POV is actually harder than other POVs. You’re not just developing one character—you’re developing several, and you have to tie all their perspectives into a cohesive whole.

What to Do Instead: Focus on nailing the story with a single POV first. Once you’re confident the core of the story is solid, you can decide if adding other perspectives will truly enhance it.

In Summary

Multiple POV is a powerful tool, but it’s not a shortcut. It requires careful planning and strong execution. If you’re considering it, ask yourself:

Does every POV character bring something unique to the story?

Am I clear on the main conflict and theme?

Could this story be told just as well (or better) with a single POV?

Sometimes, the simplest route is the best one.

Hope this helps!

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@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvok is not as autistic coded in-narrative compared to what I've seen of Spock or T'Pol where they're othered heavily by those around them and have themes and arcs about struggling/striving to fit in BUT I do think he provides the vital autistic representation of not really angsting about your differences from other people because you're too busy and unaware and then even when you ARE made aware you mostly just think 'glad that's not me'. I think it's vital to have that sort of totally unbothered rep. I love that Tuvok is completely satisfied and proud of being Vulcan, doesn't long to experience emotion or struggle with a desire to express himself in a way his crewmates will understand, to be closer to them. I love that he has a long time and close friend that respects who he is and doesn't try to change him and that how close they are isn't framed as being in spite of his Vulcan nature. I love that being Vulcan isn't framed as a hindrance to him, like a roadblock to living a full and rich life. He has a wife and four kids and is a devoted husband and father. He's getting into gay horror scenarios. Tuvok was born on autism planet and he's thriving.

[jedijenkins]

coming back onto tumblr after a few years and finding a bunch of new viewers who dont seem to understand ezekiel was canonically lying about remembering the timeloop is so confusing and honestly i pin it on the increasing lack of media literacy in the last half decade amongst audiences. but also partially on dean devlin being a little shit

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

So I haven't rewatched the Bad Batch season 1 finale in its entirety in months, but for some reason Crosshair's "You weren't loyal to me!" has been stuck in my head all day, and now I'm wondering if Hunter ever outright told Crosshair that the squad had been planning on coming back for him.

I mean, we as the audience know the squad never planned on leaving Crosshair behind on Kamino, and Hunter was literally on his way to find him when Crosshair confronted them in the hangar; but Crosshair didn't know that. From his perspective, his squad had been arguing with him again right before he was taken to undergo some sort of medical procedure, and then he's sent after his squad who are all escaping, and he finds them in the hangar prepping to leave - apparently without him. And of course when he and Hunter start arguing, the fact that Hunter had been coming to find him never gets brought up.

None of this is to say that I agree with Crosshair's subsequent actions in season 1. Even if the squad WAS planning on leaving him behind, Crosshair isn't justified in shooting at them and trying to kill them (multiple times over) - inhibitor chip or not.

Still, it does make me wonder to what extent the thought that he had been abandoned added fuel to the fire of his anger in season 1. And I'm inclined to believe it might have even made him think he was being generous by offering his disloyal brothers a chance to rejoin him by joining the Empire.

And it does make me wonder if, post-season 2, he ever opened up to Hunter enough that Hunter could explain the truth of the situation.

[link-lonk]

If you do the Battler quests (which unlock after defeating Charlotte) under the Main Story you can unlock these cool dioramas of the witches' labyrinths!

[son-of-thalassa]

hate being all by myself with no one to help me cum a third, maybe fourth time. i get sleepy and oversensitive after two, wouldn't it just be soooo nice to have someone to keep touching me when i can't anymore? to keep going until i can muster nothing other than breathy gasps and the occasional broken whimper, sheets soaked from so many orgasms

[fragmentedstarlights]

Guy who can contain multitudes...

[casually-eat-my-soul]

I might get hate for this but I’ll it always find it funny that Scott pushes Derek to work with the argents (season 3 ish) and and struggles to understand why when he refuses to; When Scott himself refused to work with Derek for the longest time becuase Derek killed Peter.

Like brother in Christ, I get it, objectively Derek kinda manipulated Scott into helping kill Peter, by promising that he would be able to kill Peter and turn human (he did say it was a fat chance and just a legend). Yes he knew that the legend was bullshit but telling Scott was the best way to get him to help.

Dereks been a werewolf his entire life. He knew that he couldn’t kill Peter alone and that the risk of letting Scott kill Peter on a chance of turning human wasn’t worth it. — Best case it happens Scott turns human, Derek maybe becomes an alpha werewolf (the spark transfers) and still creates the hale pack — maybe derek stays an Omega, goes feral and gets hunted down. Or maybe Scott turns into an alpha doesn’t handle it well, goes feral, and than gets killed by either 1 Derek or 2 hunters.

So yes maybe he did manipulate Scott into helping but in the end there is some logic behind Derek killing Peter. So I get the betrayal behind not wanting to be around him

On the other hand pushing him to work with the argents when they killed his family and tortured Boyd and Erica isn’t and not understanding why he doesn’t want to work with them is objectively funny. Even stiles could read the room, shot out to the one scene “would you rather I burned his house down”

[fiona-fififi]

No, Buck. You should not call your shitty ex-boyfriend and apologize for being mean to him after he chose to undermine your relationship with your best friend, actually.

Like, that shit was uncalled for. After he clocked Buck living in Eddie's house and clearly struggling with losing him, he's going to say some shit painting Eddie as competition instead of offering literally any form of comfort, like, I don't know, not implying that Buck's best friend being out of the way is somehow a win for him??

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hello bucket. I am thinking about multiple pov and whether it works for my first draft. I find that the secondary characters are more engaging to be with, but less central to the overall theme/plot. How can I improve my main character to be actually interesting and not just a flat outline? they feel like a generic isekai protagonist that the viewer can self-insert on. How do I add flavour without it being some gimmick?

When Your Main Character Feels Boring

Great question! It’s super common for side characters to be more engaging than protagonists, and honestly? That’s not always a bad thing. Heroes often have the “straight man” role in a story—they’re the steady center while the zany, chaotic, or ultra-dramatic side characters swirl around them. Think of Frodo surrounded by Sam, Gollum, and Merry & Pippin. Or Luke Skywalker next to Han Solo and Leia. The protagonist’s job is often to move the plot forward, while side characters get to steal the show in smaller bursts.

That said, if your main character feels like a generic self-insert, there are ways to make them more compelling without relying on gimmicks. A few things to consider:

• What’s their perspective? A strong POV can make even a “bland” protagonist interesting. Do they see the world through a hyper-logical lens? A poetic one? A deeply cynical or absurd one? If your story is in their POV, let their voice shine through in the narration.

• What do they struggle with? No one is interesting without internal conflict. What contradictions exist within them? What do they want vs. what do they fear? Even a relatively passive protagonist can be compelling if they’re actively grappling with something.

• What do others see in them? Why are the more engaging side characters drawn to this person? What do they argue about? What do they love/hate about each other?

• Give them choices. A lot of self-insert-style protagonists feel bland because things happen to them instead of them making things happen. Put them in tough situations where they have to make active, often flawed, choices.

And remember, not every character needs to be flashy to be compelling! Sometimes, the best protagonists are the ones who hold the emotional core of the story while the side characters get to be the comic relief, the drama, or the wildcards. The trick is making sure your protagonist has something driving them, something personal at stake, and a perspective on the world that’s worth following.

Hope this helps!

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@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[startedwellthatsentence]

I would like to reiterate in an original post that from Tristan’s point of view, Max rejected him professionally, reprimanded him in front of their boss, and then rejected him romantically, within about 1 hour. Then, instead of comforting him, Avery explained to him that she would only be with Tristan if Max was also there and then sexually manipulated him into attempting to get Max’s approval. So now he knows that if he doesn’t manage to succeed in getting Max, who just rejected them both and implied he was straight, back into bed with them, then he also loses Avery, and it will be his fault that they don’t work out.

[ducktracy]

for some reason i thought i posted these before. but let the record show that Porky has a vehement gay little man crush on an absurdly sexy supermodel voiced by Tim Curry and everything about it is extremely funny

this is the absurdly sexy supermodel voiced by Tim Curry btw

also unrelated but i highly enjoy this image

[shallowseeker]

I know why Cas says he cared about Sam because of Dean but I don’t get why he says it about Jack? I feel like his relationship with Jack was fairly separate from Dean

I personally don’t view Cas’s statement as that literal. To me, it means less that he cared about Jack because of Dean, and more that caring about one person gave him the courage to keep opening himself up.

Love, after all, spreads like a contagion. It grows, expanding outward like a stone dropped in water, rippling further and further. Dean wasn’t the start of Cas caring about things; Cas had his own convictions and compassion long before that.

But Dean was a turning point. He became family, a kind of structural support Cas could grow with (and change with, and mess up with, and come back to against all the odds). Through that foundation, it became possible for Cas to live and love more fully: Sam, Bobby, other angels, Claire, Mary, Jack, the AU hunters, Rowena, and humanity itself.

[gryphis-eyes]

Why do I only see astrology post on the pick a card tag 🤨