Mastering Multi-POV | How to Write A Multi-POV Book

[@AlexaDonne]

Please forgive me for how annoyingly long this video is. I have lost my (marginal) talent for brevity... but there are timestamps so you can skip as needed!

[@geholohorroh]

Long is good! (Granted, I haven't watched the video yet😅)

[@girlypopgay]

We’re frothing at the mouth for this ☺️

[@caesuracrossing5473]

We haven’t watched a how to video from you for ages and im grateful that this is a long video from you!

[@amy-suewisniewski6451]

I'm only sad it's not longer 😂 I love feature-length film Alexa videos.

[@geeseboots]

I prefer videos that are long, especially from you, Alexa! You are well-spoken and keep me engaged.

[@elled.3544]

please keep giving us these feature film-length videos. please - the writing community of youtube

[@arizonaasher]

I have a spreadsheet for character voice. What phrases does this character tend to repeat? What do they reference frequently? How do they greet people? What are their most common word choices for various situations? Sense of humor, dialect, what wouldn't they say, etc. Obviously, you want to give them a few options for things or else they'll feel one note and repetitive. You don't have to stick to it religiously, but it's useful to reference when editing.

[@CeruleanAether]

An HOUR of Alexa Donne? Heck yeah!

[@BuizelCream]

Definitely not complaining here too!

[@kylawapshott460]

I really love when the reader knows more than the character so I like switching pov's when the words and actions of the non-pov character will mean something different to the reader than to the new pov character. Even better if they completely misinterpret them and the reader can say 'nooo! you foooool!'

[@miaramck6746]

The Call by, Peadar O'Guilin. It's set in Ireland, 25 years after the fairies cut the island off from the rest of the world, and every teen is randomly pulled into the fae lands and must survive for 24 hours. The main story is told from one character' pov , but each time a person is called they get a chapter. Amazingly done.

[@thesarah_alice4805]

I was just thinking about changing my novel to be single POV as I wasn't sure the dual made sense and bam - i'm sold. single POV it is

[@markf9138]

I can see myself coming back to this video over and over, thank you so much!

[@Danielle2Cats]

Perfect timing. I am writing a multi-POV YA mystery/thriller with some horror elements.

[@holly_gmTwb]

Same! There are a few points I needed. Time to edit! ❤

[@BrittanyArtPoetry]

I use multi POV on my first draft as a way to get past writers block. Even if I don’t end up using the POV chapter having a different character explain the scene can help me figure out what happens next. If I keep it Multi POV depends on the story, first drafts are rarely what it looks like at the end, and maybe it’s a crutch, but as long as I edit out the parts that are weakly written I find it to be a useful first draft tool. Sometimes I even keep it multi POV, though usually only two or maybe three POVs, rarely do I do too many more than that.

[@Latriise]

I clicked on this video so fast. And I love a long video. Can't wait to dig into this.

[@russellcameronthomas2116]

28:58 -- Excellent alternatives to the usual rule about using POV character with most at stake in a scene. I find in my historical mystery-suspense, the best POV for a scene is the one that informs the reader in the most fruitful or stimulating way. Sometimes, this is the least informed or least experienced POV character because the reader gets to learn about the world or other characters via basic or naive questions. Sometimes, the best POV character is biased toward discovering some important information, or likewise biased against (blind spot). Sometimes the best POV character is the one that is most transformed in a scene, or has their subplot most advanced by the scene.

[@gothandwhimsy]

ALEXA IS BACK!!! And it's a long'un!! You're spoiling us! ☺️

[@MillieMartineuz]

Great video, Ms Alexa. So glad to have you back on youtube. I knew you were on TikTok but I refuse to go over there, and kept hoping you'd come back! You have been, and continue to be, a presence on my writing journey. I am so grateful for - and entertained by - your advice, and every time I log on to youtube I look for a new video from you. 🧡

[@sarahhawkinson]

This is so interesting and helpful to me thank you so much! 🙌

[@girlypopgay]

Ah, i love this. I just started a Second Attempt at original fic (a stand-alone that feels most marketable). Which is multi pov (if I’m not trying to Omni “head-hop” (not actually but like, close Omni vibe (??)), I have at least two main povs). So I am SO happy right now.

[@didyoujust7810]

Really good video, I love the long format!! I'm about 100k into writing a sci-fi/dystopian which has three POVs in 3rd person, they are 1 - the main character 2 - the main characters adopted brother 3 - the main characters blood brother So they're kinda all brothers haha, two aliens and one human. The most time gets devoted to 1, the main character. All have internal conflict and arcs that are addressed, and 1/3 have very different views about the situation they're in, and secrets between them. 2 has a whole backstory to address that involves character 1. He has a totally different voice, and is a human. It also expands on knowledge with the politics that the other characters don't know. Also we are separated a lot by plot from 1/3 towards the end of the book. Plot happens that 3 and some other supporting characters initiate, and there was no way of showing this without him having a POV. Format is a struggle, but I think readers will be fine with it being placed wherever it's necessary.

[@jaygaymes]

My favorite author, Christopher Paolini, did multi-POV later on in his series, The Inheritance Cycle, and I definitely fell into the "I find this POV boring" camp with one of the characters. However I loved the story and setting SO much that I made it through, and when it all came together, it made sense WHY that characters POV was necessary. I still feel that way when I reread the books, as I do about once a year, but I can see how it can be a detriment for sure.

[@Lewd_Donut]

omg you're back! I love the long format

[@RoseKindred]

Oh, how wonderful timing. I am working (trying to) on a main-dual POV with a few intermissions by other characters for exposition and backstory/info. Hope to learn a few tricks here. Although, I think for the niche I am aiming for it would work, but, I don't really encourage how I am doing it for others.

[@Ioanna2548]

Settling in for an unexpected, but not unappreciated, Alexa Donne podcast lol

[@absolutelycitron1580]

Yaaaay! New Alexa writing tips. My story is just dual pov but I feel like this should be hella helpful

[@RhyleeKJones]

This video came to me at the right time! 🙌🏻 I’ve been toying with the idea of trying dual pov for my next WIP. I’ve been hitting a wall trying to move through the middle (those dreaded middle sections!) After watching this video, I gave it a shot. I rewrote one of the scenes and it unlocked the rest of the story for me. Still have a long way to go in this first draft but it’s given me new hope! 🎉

[@AlexaDonne]

Yay! I'm so happy to hear this!

[@alainiskandar3472]

I can’t believe you’re back, i love listening to you, even for hours

[@alisonjacobs8469]

just what I need for my romance sci-fi fantasy! Thank you!

[@veronikachristen2373]

Never apologize for a long video! I love your craft videos and I could listen to you talk for hours! :) So happy to get more videos from you, especially about your writing process.

[@WilliamBilsters]

This video is perfect timing! I am also currently writing multi POV and it is kicking my butt ya'll!

[@meh9677]

i missed your videos. im glad youtube recommended this one otherwise i wouldn't have known you started making them again. I'll definitely watch the ones from a month/two months ago too!

[@WolveriaTV]

So excited to see you back, and with an hour long video? You spoil us.

[@AutumnMack09]

This is perfect for me who is preparing to write a novel with four first person POV's. Thanks!

[@AFringedGentian]

OMG Alexa, I just queried your agent! I gushed over how much I love your channel and your books in my query letter. I’m not sure my work is her cup of tea but she reps my genre and she’s awesome so I thought, we’ll give her a try and if she doesn’t like it, she’s still awesome because she’s YOUR agent. I took a year off from querying and I’m jumping back in with a splash today. Excited to have a finished project to query. And I’m going to watch this while I work on my queries!

[@lauralunapuigsuarez7032]

I'm so happy, you're my favorite KZbinr

[@samyboynton6129]

Yay! Always excited to see a new Alexa video in my alerts!

[@Alynnescape]

i love the long videos! this is coming right on time for me, sitting here frustrated trying to think through some of these structural things. thanks for the ideas and food for thought!

[@multitaskcreative]

Great timing! I need a refresher on multi POV for some nonlinear storytelling I have planned:) Love your videos, Alexa!

[@CheyenneSedai]

The Black Company does voice better than any other series I've ever seen. it isn't all in one book for the most part, but across the series it's absolutely masterful.

[@trinaq]

Thanks for this advice, Alexa. I'm working on a first person dual narrative at the moment, and your video really helps to enhance it. I'll drop everything watch your video.

[@andeeharry]

Yay, the queen has returned, so missed you.

[@willowparrish5057]

I'm so happy to see you making videos again! I'm working on my first novel, a dual POV romance, and your videos are at the top of my arsenal when I need help. Thank you!!

[@jordoom9091]

I definitely bit off more than I could chew when starting my first novel.. I went with 3 POV in first person, and it has been a struggle to make them all sound different. It's a Science Fiction Thriller, and I did officially finish my second draft!

[@rebusjohansson4439]

Great video! Every minute of it is packed with great advice!!!!

[@readingdino711]

I'm doing a cowboy story with 5 POVs, one is Ray, who wants to be sheriff and is from the sunny side of the planet, one is Aurora a travelling musician who has been swallowed by the woods, Noctua a cowpal (they're nonbinary so not a cowboy or cowgirl) from the dark side of the planet and soon to be refugee in the sunny side, Shye, a shadowfolk who hates the dark side's tribes and the secondary antagonist, and the trees, the main antagonists who speak up only every 8 chapters for a one page chapter, and their chapters will be written in red, just to get the horror inspired theme more across. I originally had more, but the woodland creatures don't need one and neither does Lyra, or the ghosts. And this video was incredibly helpful for that.

[@kristinlaurelluna]

I clicked so fast my finger cramped. LOL

[@Rachel-art-and-design]

I am peppering my story with multi pov. Similar to the book I am reading right now, The Picture of Dorian Grey. I am changing occasionally briefly to another character at the end or during a chapter. This is great information. Thanks so much. ❤

[@rylanwow]

yayayyyy give it up for another long video i love it

[@shncosplay]

Thank you so much for your helpful videos!

[@suzannekennedy4993]

I'm so excited for this 😭♥️

[@holly_gmTwb]

Love your tips. They have helped me immensely. Though the random cat tail in the background stole the show. 😂

[@Aésling-c8t]

Thank you so much for posting stuff like this, you have really helped me. And this kind of video was actually what I was looking for recently! 😂❤

[@tomaszmazurek64]

Thanks for the video. There is one pitfall I have recently discovered about first person multi-POV - and first person in general, but multi_POV emphasizes this pitfall. So the pitfall is that besides all the wonderful qualities that first person pov has, it is also kind of a cheat to get around the "show, don't tell" rule. You are literally inside someone's head, listening to their thought process, so it is only natural that you will have a more "direct access" to their thoughts and feelings. For that one person the "show, don't tell" rule is partially suspended - for example it makes sense to just write "in this moment, I've realized I loved her". Now, already in the case of the single first person pov this can lead to a pitfall where a writer is satisfied with just telling that and doesn't work to show that feeling of love in any other way. However in first person multi-pov this pitfall grows. Let's say a writer would like to explain that other character's feelings in this scene were different then what the protagonist assumed, or that they have a backstory that justifies why they acted the way they did - why put in an effort to setup a situation where that could be shown through external actions or dialogue, when they can just headhop for one chapter and explain everything through internal monologue? I see this happening quite frequently among young writers and usually the more POVs, the more prone they are to doing that.

[@kevinrotge4774]

Thank you for this video. It was helpful to me do to I am writing my first book and it is multi POV from first person. It is a fantasy adventure book, with dragons. This video was informative and gave me hope for the editing after i finish the first draft. I am about 40,000 words into it. i am worried about word count as I think it will be well over 100,000 word once done. as I have watch you other video on publishing and word counts. If it is long enough I was think just turning it into 2 books but will see what happen after the first draft is fully written. thanks again for all your videos. they all been helpful to me.

[@mikaylamarks7361]

Been missing your “how to” writing videos!

[@ReadableMarie]

That thumbnail rocks ❤ lol

[@pebblescarpetcat]

As someone who's recently, for fun, counted _every single character_ to compare with writing friends and come up with oh, _128_ (granted, this is across worlds) this is greatly appreciated insight I'm having a heck of a time juggling povs haha One tenuous strategy I've come up with is linking the 'side/importantish characters' with _at least_ the previous/previous couple of chapters beforehand. Since there is way too much happening behind the scenes to miss out on, which tie into the overall grand Plot

[@reflectiverambling1148]

THis has been incredibly thoughtful. Ben very very VERY slowly working my way through a draft... I don't intend to publish, it's just a challenge to complete something. So at this point I'm just trying to get through it which.... we are not talking how long this is as I do very little planning so I have pages and pages of tangents that I might only take two things from if I edit.... but I defiantly will use this if I do go back to chop this down into something manageable. Mostly with voice/ perspective. Current struggle is two teens I /know/ sound too old but it's a result of having to raise themselves a fair amount and finding that balance where it's still true but making them still feel like young teens. This started as two POVs...ended up as four with... I think one or two parts where I may have put in a random pov because I needed to explore what happened at this point even if it manners just as a reference...

[@cindywutzke7862]

Love this video. Thank you.

[@cindywutzke7862]

Simone Leigh is a good author for multiple POV. I have enoyed her books, however i have to admit that I've had to go back to the. Hapter header to realize whose POV I am reading. So she hasn't nailed the different voice. Still great books.

[@AJDunnReads]

I'm doing a dual pov, both first person with one a male addicted to something and another a female with past trauma, making their povs inherently different. It's fun to write different people from first person. You get to explore different aspects of yourself as well!

[@clareagrippina6569]

Ohhhhh *grabs popcorn and notepad* go on

[@cindywutzke7862]

Golden Angel does a fabulous job of multi POV.

[@lightquest2]

Just the video I need rn 😭😭🙏🏾

[@Rpilch870]

Happy to see you back, Alexa!! Do you think we’ll ever see a video on writing a multi-timeline novel?

[@johnmclean6380]

Great stuff-well worth watching from start to finish…despite the Ad Breaks every 2-3 minutes throughout 😅😅😅

[@AlexaDonne]

Genuinely thank you for telling me! Looks like KZbin auto-placement went WILD. I hate that many mid-rolls. Just deleted a bunch.

[@NonAnonD]

the thumbnail is thumbnailing

[@AlexaDonne]

I thumbnailed too close to the sun.

[@girlypopgay]

Oh my god oh my god oh my god ☺️

[@girlypopgay]

God it’s an hour this is heaven 🙏🥰

[@melissawilliams9473]

1000percent would watch this movie. I would buy it right now if I could!

[@caesuracrossing5473]

I was also wondering if you are sick when you were filming this video I could hear a raspy tone to some of the words I hope you are feeling better and taking care of your health! It didn’t bother me at all just made me feel worried. Multi point of view scares me 😱 and will definitely have to try it when I write my second book

[@brianmochtyak8215]

"Your debut can't be 200k words." Joe Abercrombie would like to have a word with you Alexa.

[@davidcave5426]

I read Rule 34 by Charles Stross. Not only is it in multi-POV, it's also written in 2nd person. I started to read the book and felt like I was reading a character background for a game. It was fascinating for a few pages but after a while, it felt normal.

[@TheEccentricRaven]

My first novel has 14 POV's 😮 I'm still working on rewriting it so I don't have any advice on what to do about it 😂 I was inspired by books I read as a kid like Animorphs and the Boxcar children, but thoses maxed out at six. More than 12 can mean not enough time to develop. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

[@pebblescarpetcat]

I might be there with your 14 povs (or more XD) Good luck to you, writing friend! May we conquer this character soup

[@era_by_era5771]

Beartown by Fredrick Backman (author of A Man Called Ove) is one of the best multi pov books I've ever read. Disclaimer tho, it's literary, so its focused on the human condition and their inner worlds, not like a fantasy quest. There’s 30+ povs, but still obvious main characters, and every pov is so well done (check tw tho). Anxious People by him is another one, with maybe 10 ish povs, and has more of a plot (mystery) that it's following.

[@shutterchick79]

The only book I ever read where the multi-pov really was the best way to go was "Her Sister's Keeper." by Jodi Picult. Each member of the family needed to be heard for the story to be told properly...

[@cheesepuff5700]

THE GODS HAVE BLESSED US

[@RAK_Media]

Is it okay if you have, say, 4 POV's - but one of them is a main character (60% of the chapters) and the other 3 are minor characters whose POV's take up the other 40% of the book? Also, at the end of my book there is a big battle where I NEED to switch POV's in the same chapter to show what other characters are doing. Is this ok as long as it is clean and makes sense?

[@Eloweh]

Yes, in Wheel of Time the first book focuses on the POV of Rand for about 80% of the time but gave other main characters like Perrin like 10% and another 10% but it wasn’t until the second and then Third book was it where Rand gave the spot light to other characters. Like in book 3 Rand got only 3 chapters while Perrin gets about 50% + of them

[@alainiskandar3472]

Is “gimmicky” your new crutch word???? 😂❤😂❤

[@dragonpluscatequalsdrat]

This was really helpful, thank you! Does anyone have any advice or opinions on structuring a five-book YA fantasy with the school story trope with ten main characters whose semi-standalone adventures become more entertwined as the series goes on, but to try and avoid character soup, each book is dual pov with a different pair narrating each book depending on relevance to that book's main plot?

[@kateferraro5249]

I'm writing a multi first person POV and sometimes there are multiple head hops in 1 chapter. I use their initials as a break but I'm not sure if that's annoying or not. Sometimes it's too short to comprise a single chapter.

[@cindywutzke7862]

I'm using mul5t POV for a romance. How I've done it as I write an event happening to one character Ii write the other character. So i think it has prevented a lot of head hopping in paragraphs.

[@biteworth3127]

❤❤❤

[@laufsteakmodel]

Is it still considered multi pov (I suppose technically it is) when 85% is 2 characters and the rest is some others (like the villains pov sprinkled in occasionally? I'm writing a sci Fi thriller and most of it is from the two main characters pov and I have some smaller chapters where I have the main ppl from the opposing factions plot their stuff. Also one or two one-off povs that show how the common folks see the world my story takes place in. It's a little Dan Brown ish. Think daVinci code where he goes to the albinos head, the bishops, the two policemen, the nun, the butler and some others as well

[@lajourdanne]

I am not sure of I’m not just mishearing but what is sff books? Is this science fiction/fantasy? Honestly, I didn't know what this meant until I turned on subtitles then googled and even that gave me different results lol.

[@AlexaDonne]

Yes, it's Science Fiction and Fantasy. I should have said it fully and not just the acronym!

[@lajourdanne]

@@AlexaDonne no problem! Thank you! great video!

[@nicklang6798]

A,B,D,C I feel like I'm learning piano here...😂

[@nicklang6798]

Do you think doing one pov from one character then half way through the book switch it to another pov or do you think readers would be upset because they don't see it coming? 😮

[@nicklang6798]

I think you answered my question 😊

[@girlypopgay]

Yeah, I hate, as I reader, replaying a scene in a different pov. Unless it’s revealing something. But if it’s a straight copy except for character thoughts…I’m skipping. When I write, I pick the pavers pob for the scene. The character who will react most interestingly, or meaningfully to the story.

[@lajourdanne]

Also same. I hate pranks and don't find them funny 😂

[@Deletirium]

Good god.

[@octosepninetyoneninetysix1601]

I don't mind the video being long I just use the play speed so it goes faster lol 😂

[@BooksForever]

I liked the part where you said “POV”.

[@faitharnott9593]

How’d you know I needed this!! I’m revising my first book and this was a question that kept popping up. Thank you!