As an aspiring author of fiction, it’s hard to determine when you’ve hit the mark with a novel. Afterall, fiction as a category is vast. You’ve got literature, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, romance, young adult, new adult, comics, science fiction, and the list goes on… Don’t even get me started on the ever-expanding sub-genres in the fantasy world: paranormal, urban, romance, epic, magical realism, suspense, billionaires, dystopian, alpha males – yes, there’s an entire category reserved just for werewolves; also witches and wizards, so I guess it balances out. And don’t forget the super popular category, romantasy.

Dare I continue? Forget it, I’d be here all day.

Let’s say you, as an aspiring author, pick a category: Romantasy. You start a series: Scales & Skin. You launch a book into the world with thousands of other books: Thin Ice. We’re back at the original question, how do you know if your book is well-received?

Two of my favorite compliments are:

• “I read it in one day!”
• “When’s the next book?”

I LOVE hearing both phrases from readers because it assures me that my book is interesting enough to be binge-worthy. It also provides much-needed energetic fuel and great motivation to keep writing when I know people are excitedly anticipating the next novel.

At the same time, as much as I truly enjoy hearing people’s feedback and kind words about my novel, I immediately get into my head and the monkey-brain kicks in…

Now what? It took me years to write a book and mere hours for people to read it. I’m not a fast writer. Do I have any stories left to tell? Will the next story be as good as the last? Better? Worse? Maybe I should focus on short stories. Maybe I should start a side-series or a new series, so I don’t get bored. More importantly, so my readers don’t get bored. Maybe I should drink a bunch of caffeine and post a blog of crazy internal thoughts highlighting the runaway train that precedes my creativity…

[ahem]

As you can see, it’s quite easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis. Even easier to get side-tracked with shiny new projects. This is especially true during the gap between one novel and the next. Making a decision and sticking to it can be a challenge when the fictional universe is limitless.

Therefore, it is with much musical fanfare and confetti tossing that I’m proud to say, I know what I want to do next.

I want to…

[drumroll]

Write my next novel from multiple POVs.

[confused silence]

What exactly is that, and why should I care? I hear you ask.

Multiple POVs (points of view) or multiple perspectives is fancy-talk for telling a story through the lens of more than one character. For example, in Thin Ice, the story is told from mermaid Glacia’s perspective. Every chapter shows the world through Glacia’s eyes. We experience her emotions and understand her inner thoughts. We glean snippets of information about other characters through dialogue and action, but ultimately don’t fully understand other characters’ motives, backstory, or approach to a problem.

With multiple POVs, several characters share the spotlight. You get into more than one character’s head and experience a wider range of emotions, tactics, and plot twists.

Sounds like fun? I assure you, it is. It will be extra fun in the Scales & Skin series because you’ll get to hear from mercreatures and humans.

Interesting proposition, you say. But haven’t you spent a lot of time figuring out Glacia’s voice? Why change it up now?

Short answer: A teenager dared me to.

Or rather, a teen read my early Glacia work and offered a suggestion that it wouldn’t totally suck to hear other perspectives. The comment stuck with me.

Longer answer: Vibrant characters and creative growth.

I have spent years figuring out Glacia’s voice. And while I have been doing this, other characters have blossomed to life in my mind. Their backstories are bursting at the seams and voices are ready to hit the page. Initially, I thought I might start a bunch of side spinoffs but – see above comments regarding shiny new projects. Sadly, I have limited writing time. Until I learn to write faster, I decided to focus my efforts.

To find a happy compromise, I decided to bring the characters’ voices together, rather than separate them into different novels. This means I must start the super exciting and incredibly daunting task of drafting a novel with multiple POVs.

Multiple voices in my head…I mean, perspectives…here we go. Authorly challenge accepted.

P.S. If you want a fantastic example of a multiple POV fantasy novel, you must check out the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. It’s super clever, gritty, and creative.