Have you ever heard of the term head-hopping? Lately, a lot
of the blog posts I seem to be reading warn against head-hopping. They claim
that using a dual point-of-view (or a triple, or even a multiple point-of-view)
can ruin a story if it’s not done right.
I admit that dual points-of-view need to be done correctly.
If you head-hop, you need to make sure your reader understands a) that the hop
has taken place and b) whose head they’ve hopped into.
That aside, though, head-hopping can be an effective tool.
Especially for romance novels, where emotion is a significant aspect of the
plot.
So then, what does head-hopping do that makes it such an
effective tool?
1. It keeps the
narrative fresh
How many times have you read a book where you’ve been in the
heroine’s head from start to finish? Doesn’t that get a bit boring after a
while?
If you’re writing in the first person, then there’s no help
for this; everything needs to be filtered through your main character since
it’s s/he who is telling the story.
But if you’re writing from a third-person-omniscient
perspective, you don’t have to stay in one character’s thoughts. You can
explore different situations, give them different twists, and tell them with a
different voice by seeing them through a shifting lens.
2. It encourages sympathy
for a character
Take a quick peek at Amazon’s reviews, and chances are you’ll
find at least one where the reader lamented that they didn’t like a character,
or they just couldn’t sympathize with them. Head-hopping helps you get past
this roadblock.
Take these two different perspectives on the same situation:
Lady Cora glared at
the handsome Lord John who her father had just told her she must marry. Must marry? It was not fair! Why must she simply
submit to her father’s will? Anger flared inside her, and fresh tears
threatened to spill down her cheeks. She held them in, determined that she
would not cry.
And ...
Lord John waited for
Lady Cora to say something. She glared at him with all the defiance of her wilful
nature. But underneath it he saw the turmoil she fought hard to suppress. A
tender sorrow blossomed in his breast as her eyes glistened with fresh tears
which the lady refused to shed.
Both scenarios are meant to inspire sympathy for our Lady
Cora. But with the first one, if it’s not handled carefully, she can end up
looking like a spoiled brat (you might almost expect her to stomp her foot and
threaten to hold her breath). With the second one, we see the reaction her
suffering inspires in Lord John, and we are more likely to agree with his
sympathy for her.
Dual (or multiple) points-of-view are the most effective way
to keep your story interesting and multi-faceted. It is a more engaging, and a
more malleable option for driving home the emotions you want to evoke in your
readers.
It’s a powerful tool. Don’t shy away from it.
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