Head Hopping vs Multiple POVs

by Jemi Fraser

When I first started writing, I hadn't realized there was a difference between head hopping and multiple points of view. There is and it's important! I write romance, and like many romance authors, I like to tell the story from the viewpoints of both the male and female lead characters. But I've learned to be very, very careful.

Head Hopping

• changing the pov character in the middle of a scene, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph
• the pov switch is shown within the sentence, often by indicating what the character is thinking (Mary wanted nothing more than to snatch the pen from his hand and shove it deep into his brain. John watched the glint in Mary's eye and took a judicious step backward.)

Multiple POVs

• the pov character is consistent throughout the entire scene
• there is a physical indicator of change - often a scene or chapter break

Currently, head hopping is NOT in style and unless you're an established author, it's difficult to pull of without looking like an amateur. Nora Roberts/JD Robb has a lot of head hopping in her books and she does it very well. There's never any confusion as to who is thinking and her transitions are seamless.

But don't try it! Nora Roberts is a very talented author with a great reputation. She's also an international best seller many times over with a bazillion books sold.

Are you?

Okay then. Probably better to stick with the current trend of only switching your point of view character at a scene or chapter break.

Do you use multiple points of view when you're writing your stories?

Jemi Fraser is an aspiring author of contemporary romance. She blogs and tweets while searching for those HEAs.