As we write, we grow. Our knowledge and experience in the art of writing are built in one area or another. Often, this growth is unnoticeable to those who read the stories. We might miss it because the growth is subtle, placed between the lines and on the impressions of the characters. Other times, we may see it, but how do we capture that growth for ourselves?
I want to share one of the areas I’ve grown in my writing craft while penning Betrayed (book 3, The Pure Line Series). For your writing inspiration and growth, my friend. Here we go!
Let’s talk about Dual POV. That is, 2 Points Of View.
For those of you who have read Betrayed, this fact won’t come as a surprise to you. My third book is written in first person from both Adrian Falkner’s and Blake Rileder’s perspective.
Understanding this tool and putting it into action created a depth to my story that I loved! It enriched and broadened the scope of the events, besides giving readers another empathetic character to follow.
Dual POV is like capturing two stories at once. So, how do we do it?
*Please note that this is how I chose to write dual POV, but there are other aspects which I didn’t use and won’t cover in this blog.*
Create Distinct Voices
Naturally, Adrian and Blake shouldn’t sound exactly alike in their narratives. Not only would it confuse readers, it would defeat the purpose of adding a secondary protagonist. God creates each person unique and, in our character development, we try to mimic that distinction.
God really set me up for this book in two ways. Firstly, that I had two books solely from Adrian’s perspective. So, I was familiar with the key components of “his voice.” It needed some maturing, but the foundation of Adrian’s POV was settled. Secondly, Blake’s story being a redemptive one made a stark contrast between the characters.
What is more, it wasn’t my first time writing with these tools. I had written the first manuscript of this book in dual POV, and several other dual POV projects, in first person and third person. I had practice.
There are 3 places where their voices became unique:
Dialogues give characters a voice in the actual events of the story. How they talk to others (or themselves) distinguishes them. For instance, Adrian is inquisitive and thankful. He asks questions often to keep the conversation moving. He’s also bold and forthright. No preplanned speeches.
Blake prefers statements and blunt facts. He speaks when he needs to and commands attention with few words. Also, Blake’s emotions are in his choice of words. He speaks what he feels, when he is safe.
While Adrian can banter and engage in conversation, Blake will cut to the chase or dive into the deep end.
Descriptions are the bulk of the book’s voice. In first person, the protagonists describe everything from scenery, circumstances, feelings, gestures, facial expressions, and battles. How they describe it distinguishes them.
Blake tends to be more detail-oriented, while Adrian sticks to the things that are applicable to him. Adrian will describe the Enclave or a battle in depth. Blake will notice everything.
Little words make a big difference. Adrian will used “blessed” and Blake will use “lucky.” Even that tiny detail can begin to build their unique voices.
A character’s voice follows the pattern of how they think, speak, and observe things around them.
Character is the largest category of building unique voice. It appears in every nook and cranny of the pages, but it’s rarely scripted.
Adrian has key components that Blake does not. For instance, his prayer life, quoting the Bible, chatting about spiritual topics, and a familiarity with spiritual warfare. On the other hand, Blake is an ignorant unbeliever. So, Blake describes the Phantom Warriors without using those words. He observes the Phantoms, trying to figure out what to call them, how they work, if they’re real. This contrasts to Adrian’s familiar way of referring to them, observing their movements, and fighting against them.
Blake had key components that Adrian did not. For instance, his knowledge of brawlers, engaging in manipulative conversations, and sensitivity to his mother and the innocent.
However, Blake and Adrian had some similarities, which gave me a starting point with the new POV.
A lot of discovering the different voices was getting them into scenes and seeing how they react, how they speak, and what marked differences they had. I tend to write plenty of scenes I don’t use in the book itself, but are very useful for story and character development.
I needed to get “into the character’s brain,” so scene building, even scenes that don’t make the cut, usually works. Often, I focused on one POV at a time. Then, after figuring out the timeline, I worked the scenes and chapters together.
Sometimes, switching between first person POVs can be hard for readers to track. I gained a few techniques to help with that.
Directing the Mind
When I switch from one first person POV to the next, I want readers to catch it. Because it gives them the best, full experience of the story. It’s a little easier with third person switches, but first person is achievable!
The easiest transition were sentence openers. Dialogue is great for this! Here’s an example from Betrayed (page 118):
“Adrian, look out!”
On instinct, I dodged the flashing blade that flipped through the air and embedded itself at my feet.
We can correctly guess that Adrian is “I” because his name was called and he is expected to take a certain action, which he does.
The protagonists’ objectives also helped with transitions.
My characters were set in varying places with their own missions and surrounded by a different set of supporting cast. Sometimes, opening the new scene with the mention of a specific person, place, or objective related to my viewpoint protagonist will trigger the reader to switch the POV in their heads.
Connecting It All
Now, I needed to build connection between the two stories to tie them into a single storyline. I used three specific components.
1: The protagonists shared common knowledge. Yet, their experience with that knowledge was different.
For instance, both Adrian and Blake knew that Helyn had been captured. One person hears of it, knows who did it, and struggles with the unknowns. The other knows when she was captured, where she is being kept, and the enemy’s purpose.
They both have the same knowledge but experience it differently. This ties the stories together on a timeline, yet keeps them clear.
2: The sides of the story were linked by the story goal.
Although Adrian and Blake had various personal goals, they end up working toward the same story goal. Again, keeping the place and allies distinct helped to maintain voice and perspective. They did end up in the same place, same time, and working for the same goal. Thus, the story ends connected and, hopefully, complete.
3: The story timeline.
While writing this book, I had to create a sort of timeline (it’s mostly words and a few numbers). There were certain events I knew I wanted in Blake’s or Adrian’s stories that had to fit in between the other’s timeline. So, I had to map it out.
Okay, here’s a week. These events happen in Blake’s life, and these ones in Adrian’s. This is when they run into each other. So, these events happen on such and such days. Boom, boom, boom.
While most readers won’t catch the exact timeline, this kind of mapping helps the story to flow and connect little details. Hence, readers won’t have to stop and wonder, why is this happening now?
It also keeps one POV from dominating the story, because it shows me where gaps have been formed that I need to fill with the second POV.
Unique voices, directions, and connections were the tools I used to fashion a dual POV that told the story on my heart and was pleasing to read.
I hope this blog will encourage you while you write dual POV in your book!
Blessing writing, friend!
P.S. If you haven’t read Betrayed and want to see these tools in action – besides just enjoying the next epic battle – you can grab a signed copy here!