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How to Differentiate Characters in Multi-POV Novels: 3 Essential Tips

If you're anything like me, the novels you enjoy reading and writing probably have multiple point of view characters. Sometimes they're the hero, sometimes they're the villain, and sometimes they're the scullery maid. Each provides a different perspective that enriches a novel's worldbuilding, characters, and plot.


It can be difficult, though, to write multiple POV stories without them becoming confusing for readers, especially when characters begin to occupy the same spaces, or when their stories intertwine.


Today, I'm going to provide a few tips for writing multiple point of view novels using examples from my own work novel Wasteland Rules (currently on submission).


A Different Perspective

Different characters invariably have different backstories and experiences, and these experiences lead to them having different perspectives on everything about the world you're creating.


In Wasteland Rules, Cesar and Indira are two prominent POV characters.


Cesar is a former soldier. He understands brute force and likes to play the hero. He doesn't understand how advanced technology works, but he's very comfortable handling and using weapons.


Indira, on the other hand, is a scientist and a scholar. It's her job to understand how things work, and she relishes the opportunity to discover new things. She's uncomfortable around weapons.


You can imagine that these two characters will see the same situation very differently. Imagine these characters are approaching a stone-walled town. The spire of a cathedral is visible over the gate, but there are soldiers blocking the way. Cesar's perspective might focus on the soldiers, since they're a potential threat. He won't care about the history of the town itself unless it's somehow relevant to his goals. By contrast, Indira will trust Cesar to deal with the soldiers, and instead might be curious about that cathedral. Who was it built for? How long ago? Why?


These differing viewpoints are the lifeblood of multiple-POV novels, and are one of the most powerful tools we writers have for differentiating our characters to our readers.


These differing perspectives can apply in my more subtle ways as well. Indira wears a golden headscarf that's incredibly precious to her. It's a symbol of her dedication to learning and education. She wears it all the time. As far as Cesar is concerned, though, it's just a yellow headscarf.


Differing Tone of Voice

Along the same vein, different POV characters will have different tones of voice. That might sound intense (finding one tone of voice is hard enough!), but it doesn't have to be. Here's an example using the same two characters from Wasteland Rules:


Imagine Cesar and Indira are each given a pistol and left alone to a doorway for an hour.


Indira has never held a pistol before. The weight of the gun in her hand is uncomfortable and alien, and the tone of my writing will change to reflect that, becoming nervous and uncertain. Perhaps it'll become rambling as Indira seeks to understand how the gun works in an effort to rationalise why it's alright for her to be holding it. Maybe she'll start questioning how she ended up in this situation at all. Lots of fast-paced questions to display Indira's anxiousness, and then relief (the pace returning to normal) when someone finally turns up to take the next shift.


Cesar, on the other hand, will be completely comfortable with the gun. He'll assess where danger might come from, slowly and methodically. He might get bored waiting for something to happen, or frustrated when it doesn't. Maybe that boredom will turn him introspective, leading him to think about similar situations from his past. Maybe it'll become a moment for fleshing out Cesar's history.


Your imagination is the limit.


Mix Up Your Metaphors

Finally, you can use each characters different perspectives and histories to determine the kinds of metaphors and similes you use throughout their chapters. Let's again take Cesar and Indira as an example.


Imagine now that each of them is standing in front of that cathedral from the first scenario. Neither of them has seen it before.


Given her history, Indira might compare its size to that of other grand buildings she's studied. She might wax lyrical about the dune-like whorls of carved stone that ebb and flow around its glittering stained-glass windows.


Cesar could compare its height to the walls of a town he once raided, comparing its looming facade to the ominous sight of an enemy squad camped at the top of a rise.


What do you think?

These are some of my favourite techniques for make each point of view character feel unique, but they're by no means the only methods. I've written a couple more here in my 3 More Tips for Writing Multiple Points of View post, but I'd love to hear from you. What do you find works best?

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