Several people are asking for this, so let's do #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV. Follow the hashtag to collect them all!
1. Shifting POV is when your narrative changes from one person's viewpoint that that of another, and it can sometimes be tricky to handle. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
2. Personally, I favour the multiple-narrator technique, which uses several first-person viewpoints, chapter by chapter. But when you're using the close third person technique, you don't have to use chapters to contain your shifts of perspective. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
3. The close third person relies portraying events, people and situations through the eyes, (feelings, memories, thoughts) of the chosen character. (eg: "Something about her reminded Charles uncomfortably of his mother.") #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
4. You can absolutely use this technique to jump from one person's POV to another, but this needs careful handling, or it can come across as confusing and over-busy. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
5. Think of POV as a camera. Shifting perpectives is the same as shifting from one camera to the other. Do too much of it too fast, and all you'll get is a dizzying series of close-ups of your characters' faces (and you'll give your audience a headache.)#TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
6. You can avoid this effect in a number of ways, while still keeping the intimacy of the close third-person POV. One way is to alternate chapters, and to stick with your designated character throughout (George RR Martin does this all the time.) #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
7. Or you can keep much of the narrative in a neutral third-person style (imagine a long-shot camera) and zoom in for your close POV shots only when you need to. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
8. Either way, it's a good idea to remember that too many intimate close-ups (even if they're only of one person) can sometimes feel a bit too intense. You can introduce interactions (dialogue, reactions, etc) to give your scene variety. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
9. When writing from different close POVs, it's useful to make your language reflect the language and idiom your character would use. It's not actually dialogue, but it should reflect something of their voice. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
10. It's also a good way to look at the way other characters are perceived: while it often seems clumsy for a character to describe themself physically, when you're using the close third-person, you can use another character's viewpoint to do it. #TenThingsAboutShiftingPOV
