The Secret To Writing Multiple Points Of View
Transcript:
Today, we're talking about multiple points of view.
Do you need a second voice to tell your story? A third? 47? Let's find out!
One of my favorite examples of multiple points of view in storytelling is a movie called Hoodwinked.
Hoodwinked is a detective mystery retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood story. Hoodwinked is a great story on multiple levels. It's a pretty great retelling and pretty well plotted mystery, but where it really excels are its characters. Hoodwinked is set in a forest filled with fairytale creatures and it starts with the climax of the Little Red Riding Hood story with all the characters and then the cops come.
Each of the characters: the Wolf, Little Red, Grandma, the Huntsman—they have to explain their story to the cops. The majority of the movie is told by showing us what happened according to each of the characters. The Wolf, Huntsman, Grandma, and Little Red. They all get their say.
Each of their stories are very different and wildly entertaining, but it's where their stories connect that helps us solve the mystery.
This lays the groundwork to help the detective storytelling method succeed, but it's also a great way to make a retelling. The overall message of the film is that you might not know the whole story, which is a great theme for a fairytale movie.
Let's talk about that idea for your own story.
No character knows everything right at the start, but you have to seriously think about whether you need a second voice to explain the twists or reveals of your plot.
Most stories, even complex intensely plotted ones, don't need another voice to tell the story.
In fact, I think having multiple point of views when you don't need them can hurt rather than help your story.
A problem that stories with multiple points of views often have is that they need to retell or recap events that we've already seen. It is very difficult to do that in a unique and entertaining way, but it is crucial to having a good flow. This can very easily pull a reader out of the story if it isn't done in a unique and engaging way.
Hoodwinked definitely excels at this. Each of the viewpoints are very entertaining on their own, but they're only improved by connecting with the others.
Almost every single story can be told with one narrator, so how do extra narrators help your plot? In what ways do they connect? A story with multiple viewpoints should never feel like several different stories.
Even though they must be unique, they must all feel interconnected.
You should all go watch Hoodwinked. You know, for research purposes. It's on Netflix. But first, tell me what you like about multiple viewpoints! And tell me what you don't like about multiple viewpoints. Tell me what makes or breaks them for you in the comments below.
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