Booking Through Thursday – Pointed

Which is better (or preferred) … stories with multiple character points of view? Or stories that stick to just one or two at most? And, why?

This question reminded me about the popular Song of Fire & Ice series by George R. R. Martin which does the multiple character POVs to the hilt perhaps to the annoyance of some readers. I don’t think it’s bad when an author can do it well. Martin does for the most part, and the format of multiple POVs works very well for movies or TV shows since you can see how the stories and characters come together. In a book, it can be more difficult to do successfully I think. In many ways, I feel like I know and like a couple of characters more than the other so when time is focused on ones I like less, it can drag a little bit. Ensemble dramas work well on TV because there is something for everyone, but even then, I can’t stand how certain central characters get overlooked or pushed aside for others.

Multiple POVs also work well in comics and graphic novels. I think for world building, fantasy and sci-fi, it is a very good technique. For other things, I do not mind the convention of knowing a couple of characters very well.

What are your thoughts?

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