Writing Two POVs

One of the best decisions I ever made in my writing was deciding to start writing multiple POVs (point of views) within my stories. Especially within my current project. 

Why was it one of my best decisions? Well, mainly because it’s fun and it also gives me a chance to tell more of the story without restrictions to one character. I love getting into characters’ heads, so with writing dual POVs I get to get into another character. It also helps me personally, because if I’m not enjoying writing one of the characters, I always get a break and can switch to the other character. 

But how do you write dual POV well? I’ll admit that writing a dual POV takes some getting used to and it requires a lot of practice—like most things in writing—to write it well. Besides, how do you know if writing dual POV will even be good for your story? Oftentimes it isn’t the best for every story, so how do you know if your story needs more than one POV?

Is the story lacking? 

Take a look at your story. Is it lacking depth or even lacking in length? Maybe the characters just don’t seem realistic. Perhaps the plot seems flat or the character arcs aren’t what you wanted. Or maybe you, as the author, feel stuck with your protagonist. 

One way to fix any of those problems is to try writing your story with a dual POV. It’s not a permanent decision (that’s why we have drafts) and you can always just edit it out. So just try it for a few chapters and see how you like it and if it fixes your problems. 

These aren’t all of the reasons you should write dual POV, but these are some of them. 

Not every story needs two POVs and often shouldn’t. Which is why I recommend you just test it out or plan it out a little more (yes this means outlining a little bit XD). 

Personally, I started writing multiple POVs while writing fanfiction. It was a good space for me to practice with different characters and understand how to make a story connect through the eyes of so many different people. Then, when NaNoWriMo rolled around, I was prepared (with a bit of outlining) to write my first book with a dual POV. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for that story. I love that story way more than any of my previous stories. 

So, just look at your story and at other stories around you, ask critique partners, and just practice. You may find that writing dual POV will fit your genre (generally dual POV is used in Young Adult) or story. 

How do you write dual POV? 

First off, gather the troops. Pull your characters together, line them up and choose the two whose POV would fit best together. Often in YA, this means two characters in a romantic relationship, but it doesn’t have to be. In my YA project I have two siblings’ POVs. 

I do think that using a female and a male POV is really good. Definitely not required, but it adds another level of difference between your POVs and it can be really fun and good practice to write a character who has a different gender than you. It also is refreshing to the reader. 

There’s also the point, where it depends on how you plan on writing a dual POV. First person or third person makes a difference. I write in third person, because that’s where I’m skilled and I enjoy writing it a lot more. But if you’re writing first person, you’re going to be deeper inside of your character and you have to see how it will connect between your characters. Either way, it’s helpful to read books that are dual POV that are also written in the same person you’re planning to write and take notes. 

The main thing you want to do when writing dual POV is connect the two POV characters as much as you can. This doesn’t mean having them in the same room all the time (especially since one of the best things about dual POV is showing different sides of the story), but this means their lives should be connected in some way. A relationship of some sort or a growing relationship. They should have the same theme within their story and character arcs that align with that a little bit. It will tie the story together wonderfully. 

Kara Swanson does this really well. Along with Marissa Meyer, S.D. Smith, and R.M. Scheller (they aren’t dual POV, but they are multiple POV and they tie together well). 

If it fits, keep it! 

If you’re writing dual POV and you enjoy it, keep writing it. Make sure it fits your genre and age group (most Middle Grades books don’t have dual POV, which doesn’t mean it can’t be done, but it could break the expectations readers have for that genre). 

And practice. Practice. Practice. My first stories with multiple POVs were cringy to say the least. They didn’t have any structure and hardly tied together at all. But, without writing those cringy stories, I wouldn’t be able to write like I can today. So write your cringy stories just for fun and for the sake of practice. 

Also learn as much as you can. Find books that are similar to yours and see what the author has done well and what didn’t work so great. Take notes and implement that into your writing. 

Finally, just have fun with it. Writing dual POV can be one of the most fun things to do, in my opinion. Getting to see the story from two sides with two different characters and getting to write those different personalities is so fun. 

Writing dual POV can involve a little planning to make sure your storylines tie together, but I say it’s worth it. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my writing and it could be for you as well. 

Until next time, 

Aliya Gerow