Main characters and narrators

[TheEarl]

Do you think that is is necessary for a story (3rd person) to have only a single narrator?

My novel started off as the tale of one of the characters (who was the narrator) and there were two other main characters who provided conflict. Now, one of the other characters is making a break for stardom and I've realised that she has a hell of a lot happening to her as well during this story.

In the opinion of the board, do you think it is plausible to have two narrators - two lead characters who drive the story onwards, or should one of them take the lead alone?

The Earl

 

[impressive]

Do you think that is is necessary for a story (3rd person) to have only a single narrator?

My novel started off as the tale of one of the characters (who was the narrator) and there were two other main characters who provided conflict. Now, one of the other characters is making a break for stardom and I've realised that she has a hell of a lot happening to her as well during this story.

In the opinion of the board, do you think it is plausible to have two narrators - two lead characters who drive the story onwards, or should one of them take the lead alone?

The Earl

It depends on how you lay out your story. I rather enjoy books that alternate the 3rd person perspective between chapters. Just finished one, in fact: Three Women by Marge Piercy. None of the women was the "narrator" in the sense of a first person tale. Each chapter was told from the perspective of only one of the three.

Now, 3rd person omniscient is tougher to write (and read). One of my recent stories has a very brief foray into the head of another character (when the protag goes to the ladies' room) -- and it's driving me crazy. I wanna fix it, but haven't yet decided how.

 

[BlackShanglan]

I think that third person certainly can alternate perspectives. The ability to hear from more than one character is one of the great benefits of third person, so unless you're really locked into sticking to a limited omniscient focused on a single character - which can work well, but which is not necessary - I'd say go for it. I think the key things to remember are:

(1) It should always be from someone's perspective and voice. Either we're seeing through a character's POV, or through an omniscient, voiced narrator - seeing through a blank "camera" without internal commentary is very dull and best saved for occaisional effects rather than the entire story.

(2) Have a reason to switch perspective, and clearly communicate the switch. Some authors handle this just by switching each chapter, and that's one way to do it. It keeps it clear and helps the reader to know what to expect. It's also possible to swtich in other ways. I'm in the middle of working on a scene in which the perspective switches throughout a conversation between the male lead, who thinks he's successfully lying to his friend and protecting his lover, and the friend, who is perfectly aware that the male lead is lying and pities him for doing such a bad job of it. This is trickier to handle because most of the story is in a "switch with each chapter" format, so I need to concentrate on how to make this change work smoothly and make sense to the reader.

(3) Give special attention to the first switch. This is something troubling me at the moment, because my story opens with quite a lot from one character's point of view. I'm still working on how to communicate to the reader that this will be a work with a switching perspective so that the first "cut" to another character doesn't feel unnatural. Starting with three chapters all from a third person limited omniscient focussing on a single character may build in the reader the unstated expectation that the entire novel will follow that format - an issue still troubling me.

(4) Have a little fun with it. I started working on a switching third-person narration after reading "To Tempt the Devil." One of the things I liked best was the way in which the author would now and then dart aside from the main leads and bring in the POV of someone who was fresh, amusing, and interesting, although a minor character. It communciated a playfulness and showed a sophisticated use of third person in livening up the "main" action and voices with occasional asides to amusing or unusual perspectives.

That's what I have learned so far. I think we can all see that I have some ways to go, but I think I'm getting there. If you want to see how NOT to handle it, I recommend an overwritten and badly mis-managed chaptered work titled "Sweetness and Servitude" - although I think that the fifth chapter picks up to something worth reading, largley courtesy of the above lessons learned from "To Tempt the Devil." The first and last chapters make a very interesting contrast to each other.

Shanglan

 

[Guest]

In third person, I think a single narration is quite limiting to a writer. I don't particularly enjoy reading other novels with just one either because it bores me to tears. Having more than POV opens up those subplots and adds more depth to description because you can take on other character's thoughts and eyes as well. The only aspect of narration switch I don't like is when it is changed too often or too abruptly.

 

[Weird Harold]

Do you think that is is necessary for a story (3rd person) to have only a single narrator?

That depends on exactly what you mean by "a single narrator."

For example, Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series is a third person Omniscient Narrator, but there are six major protagonists, thirteen major antagonists, and "a cast of thousands" that are the focus of individual scenes throughout the series.

It's all a single narrator, but often from the perspective of a full spectrum recorder inside a given character's head for any given scene, so in a sense, it could be considered as several hundred "narrators" over the ten volumes so far, but it's no problem keeping things straight as to who is actually telling the story -- it's the cosmic security guard switching from surveilance camera to surveilance camera.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Do you think that is is necessary for a story (3rd person) to have only a single narrator?

My novel started off as the tale of one of the characters (who was the narrator) and there were two other main characters who provided conflict. Now, one of the other characters is making a break for stardom and I've realised that she has a hell of a lot happening to her as well during this story.

In the opinion of the board, do you think it is plausible to have two narrators - two lead characters who drive the story onwards, or should one of them take the lead alone?

The Earl

before reading the rest of the responses:

my current project has 2 main characters and I shift the (3rd person) narration between their points of view in alternating chapters. It's been a challenge...

 

[Celtic Princess]

before reading the rest of the responses:

my current project has 2 main characters and I shift the (3rd person) narration between their points of view in alternating chapters. It's been a challenge...

It's been fun. And don't let me hear you say otherwise, mister! *cracks whip*









Seriously though, it has been fun. Especially for me, since I don't have to write very much at all.

 

[Pyed_Typer]

Read "Laura" by Vera Caspary which is a murder mystery written with four first person narrators.

Each narrator is a different suspect, who takes the story forward for a chapter before the story switches to a different narrator.

No narrator ever tells you more than their character would know, while only the murderer withholds the information that s/he is the murderer.


It was made into a movie in the 40s, and is best remembered for its theme music, which shares the same title.