your POV is running over my sensibilities
One of the worst things a writer can do, in my opinion, is get sloppy with POV.
I'm currently "reading" a first novel of a now-famous author, who happens to be one I admire. Unfortunately, I don't admire this book. It's got an interesting premise, but it lost my attention and hasn't managed to bring me back. It's been sitting on the back of my toilet for two months now, to be plowed through when I find myself a) in that bathroom and b) short of reading material.
It's a plot problem, mostly, but I was really taken aback when I came across chapter twenty-something written from the point-of-view of a secondary character - this after the the first 3/4 of the book written from the main character's eyes.
To me, this is unforgivable. If you're going to shift POV, you have to establish that early - in the first chapters, if not the first few scenes. By chapter twenty-something-or-other, your reader is firmly established in this world you've created, seeing it according to rules of perspective that you have created. To suddenly jump them into another POV is jarring and, frankly, tells me you wrote yourself into a corner and don't know how to get out without cheating.
My husband says it can be done, though - with care. For example, if the main POV character is suddenly unconscious, and you've got to keep the story moving. Or to give the reader a taste of the bad guy, the other side of the fence, maybe. But i say, bah. If you're going to do it, do it from the start. Otherwise, it's inconsistent and draws too much attention to the writer - a big no no.
That said, I hesitate to accept shifting POV within a scene, even if that's the rule you've established from page 1 - as in:
"Mary rushed in. She hated being late and felt that everyone's eyes were boring lasers into her because of it. Meanwhile, Josh glanced up at Mary's flushed face and inwardly sighed. She was so lovely when she was flustered."
I thought this was a standard rule, but lately I've come across two decent novels by highly regarded authors where this is done. Is it sloppy editing? A case of "if you're famous, you can do what you want?" Or is there a way, do you think, that shifting POV within a scene can be accomplished without stinking up the page?
I'm torn somewhere between the second and the third explanation... for instance, in Rosie by Anne Lamott there are instances of POV schizophrenia, but for some reason it never bothered me. I thought the book was a masterpiece, and I'm still trying to articulate why. Yet in The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire, which I am currently reading (by which I mean ACTIVELY READING) and enjoying, I tripped over the exact same sloppy POV and it really bugged me. And I know Maguire is an amazing author, so I wonder. What makes it work? When is it ok?
I'm currently "reading" a first novel of a now-famous author, who happens to be one I admire. Unfortunately, I don't admire this book. It's got an interesting premise, but it lost my attention and hasn't managed to bring me back. It's been sitting on the back of my toilet for two months now, to be plowed through when I find myself a) in that bathroom and b) short of reading material.
It's a plot problem, mostly, but I was really taken aback when I came across chapter twenty-something written from the point-of-view of a secondary character - this after the the first 3/4 of the book written from the main character's eyes.
To me, this is unforgivable. If you're going to shift POV, you have to establish that early - in the first chapters, if not the first few scenes. By chapter twenty-something-or-other, your reader is firmly established in this world you've created, seeing it according to rules of perspective that you have created. To suddenly jump them into another POV is jarring and, frankly, tells me you wrote yourself into a corner and don't know how to get out without cheating.
My husband says it can be done, though - with care. For example, if the main POV character is suddenly unconscious, and you've got to keep the story moving. Or to give the reader a taste of the bad guy, the other side of the fence, maybe. But i say, bah. If you're going to do it, do it from the start. Otherwise, it's inconsistent and draws too much attention to the writer - a big no no.
That said, I hesitate to accept shifting POV within a scene, even if that's the rule you've established from page 1 - as in:
"Mary rushed in. She hated being late and felt that everyone's eyes were boring lasers into her because of it. Meanwhile, Josh glanced up at Mary's flushed face and inwardly sighed. She was so lovely when she was flustered."
I thought this was a standard rule, but lately I've come across two decent novels by highly regarded authors where this is done. Is it sloppy editing? A case of "if you're famous, you can do what you want?" Or is there a way, do you think, that shifting POV within a scene can be accomplished without stinking up the page?
I'm torn somewhere between the second and the third explanation... for instance, in Rosie by Anne Lamott there are instances of POV schizophrenia, but for some reason it never bothered me. I thought the book was a masterpiece, and I'm still trying to articulate why. Yet in The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire, which I am currently reading (by which I mean ACTIVELY READING) and enjoying, I tripped over the exact same sloppy POV and it really bugged me. And I know Maguire is an amazing author, so I wonder. What makes it work? When is it ok?