What is a point of view?
When writing novels with a first person point of view, the internal dialog usually belongs to the main character. The author shares the thoughts and internal feelings of the single character throughout the book. For example,
I climbed the stairs and looked into the first room on the right. I didn’t know what I would find, but I was pleasantly surprised. No one was there. My thumping heart slowed to a normal rate. I took a deep breath, feeling the cool air rush into my lungs. Would I find someone in the next room? Would I wake up from this nightmare before I did?
Conflicting points of view
When writing in the third person, it gets more complicated. The author can switch the point of view from one character to another. It’s best to restrict the point of view to one character for each scene. The reader emotionally connects with that character, whereas including internal thoughts from multiple characters at the same time confuses the reader.
Consider this paragraph.
Tommy thought back to when he was a child. He remembered her. She was in his grade school class. He stared through the store window at her. She peered at him through her fogged glass. Was he the guy who tried to kiss her in third grade? She slapped him then, and deep inside, she felt the urge to do so again. He hoped she’d forgotten about his ill-advised attempt.
Although readers are unlikely to identify a conflict in point of view, this issue can easily confuse them. Who is thinking which thoughts? Whose head are we inside now?
The author should limit each scene in the novel to one character’s internal dialogue.
Resolving the Conflict
How do you reveal the thoughts of other characters when the point of view belongs to a different character?
Let’s take a quick look at how this can be done.
Dialogue
The other character can speak what is on her mind. This allows the reader and other characters to learn more. Rather than this:
Tommy sat back in the chair, wondering what Vicky thought. Was she interested in attending the movie with him? Vicky leaned forward. Her thoughts were muddled. She wanted to go out with Tommy, but animal movies scared her.
using dialogue will solve the conflicting point of view:
Tommy sat back in the chair, wondering what Vicky thought. Was she interested in attending the movie with him? He didn’t have to wait long for an answer. “I don’t want to watch a movie about animals. They scare me. Can we do something else?”
Facial Expressions and Body Language
Using the same example from above, Tommy reads Vicky’s body language, telling the reader what she’s thinking.
Tommy sat back in the chair, wondering what Vicky thought. Was she interested in attending the movie with him? Vicky leaned forward with a puzzled expression on her face. She twitched when Tommy mentioned the name of the movie. Perhaps he would be wise to suggest a different activity.
Scene change.
A scene change allows you to present the thoughts from both characters, but breaks the story into multiple sections. This works well if you are going to continue with the new character’s point of view for a while. Doing it for a single paragraph might make the story feel choppy and disjointed.
Tommy sat back in the chair, wondering what Vicky thought. Was she interested in attending the movie with him?
Vicky leaned forward. Her thoughts were muddled. She wanted to go out with Tommy, but animal movies scared her. If she said no, would he invite her some where else?