What I Learned From Writing Duel POVs

The Last Heir taught me a lot about writing duel point of views. Today, I'll be sharing what I learned and how you can make your duel POV chapters stronger!

Let's dive in!

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#1 - Alternating chapters

I think this is the big one that comes to mind when people consider writing duel POVs. "Oh, so I have to alternate chapters?" The answer here is yes. You can't have a duel POV without having a duel POV.

I tend to approach this by getting into the flow of the plot and pacing which makes the decision of whose POV it is come easier. It's important to note that your POV's don't have to change every chapter. It's okay to have two, or three, chapters in a row of the same POV. You most certainly can alternate every chapter, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.

For example, in The Last Heir, the book starts out on Kal's point of view. By chapter five, Savannah's POV comes into view. Chapter six, it's back to Kal. Eight, Savannah.

#2 - Distinctive character voices

With any double POV book, it's important to have your main characters each have their own distinctive voices.

This goes down to the way they act, speak, and even think. Your book can have all the tension, suspense, conflict, and deep themes, but if the leading characters sound and act the same? By overlooking that small (or not-so-small) detail, you're writing a recipe for disaster.

I was really struggling with this when writing tLH, so this was one of the main questions I brought up when I had a mentorship appointment with Kara Swanson. "How can I give each of my characters their own distinctive voice?" Now, Kara does an amazing job with this in her Heirs of Neverland duology. So of course, she was my person to ask.

Kara told me to start by really getting into that character's head. She had me describe Kal and Savannah to her, and one of the main points about Kal is his sass. Before, I'd never really thought much about my boy's sass - it was just one of his character traits, right? Well, Kara said that if I have a sassy character, then think, what's the reason behind the sass? Is the character just ignorant, or hiding something?

This changed my whole view on it. Of course, Savannah isn't sassy, or sarcastic, so her manner of speech and thinking is going to vary widely from Kal's.

I would highly recommend reading Kara Swanson's Dust and Shadow. Like I mentioned above, she does an amazing job here writing character voice with her duel POVs, and even though it's fiction, you can gain a lot of insight from reading it. (Plus, it makes for a beautiful late-night read, especially if you want a novel to laugh and sob over <3).

#3 - Intertwine plots

Of course, with any duel POV, both character's plots have to align to make the story work.

Imagine if I'm writing a story about a girl who's on a mission to save her family's farm while the boy's plot is completely unrelated to the girl's. We can't have two seperate stories going on within the same book. It just doesn't work that way. So, making sure your character's plots intertwine is a huge one here.

One thing to keep in mind is don't make your character's plots the same. But make them align with each other. This way, it keeps the main plot in flow, and the readers from putting down the book.

#4 - Both characters need equally strong arcs

I know, I know. Focusing on TWO character arcs at once, especially for the main characters, is certain to be a doozy 😂.

But no matter how hard or unimportant it might seem, it really is important. If you only focus on developing one character arc, and the other ends up falling apart, well then . . . let's just say that it won't make for a very believable story.

Also, neither character arc has to be the same. You can have one follow a postive arc, while the other is on the path for a negitive arc. Or a flat arc. Or you could have them both be positive arcs! This is where you get creatve, and there's no right or wrong way to do it.

#5 - Don't focus on one character more than the other

By writing duel POVs, you're having two main characters, and overlooking one of them to focus mainly on the other could be a recipe for mess.

Of course, you can slightly lean to having one MAIN main character. That's what I did with Kal. Savannah is also a major main character, but the plot is more focused on Kal. Savannah, however, does plays a major role in the story, and it would sorely fall apart without her. There's a reason I have her as the second POV! 😉

But with duel POVs, there's no point in having a second point of view if all your focus is on only one of the characters.

#6 - Think of the reader

This is just a small one, but to keep things less confusing for the reader, title the chapter as the character's name. For example, if it was Kal's POV, it'd be titled as Kalden, and Savannah's would be Savannah.

#7 - 1st person or 3rd person?

There's no "right" or "wrong" answer to this, as each author gets to decide whether they would like their story to be written in 1st or 3rd person.

I will say that 1st person is probably best for writing duel POVs, as you get more into the character's heads this way, feel their conflicts, deeper character voice, etc. But like I said, there's no right or wrong way to this. You're the author, which means that you get to decide which is best for your story.

Conclusion

That all said, writing duel POVs really is one of my favorite things to do. It's hard, sure, but that's what makes it beautiful. Entwining two character's journeys into each other? Best. Thing. Ever.

So go write a duel POV - write it and weave into it all the themes and emotions and conflicts. Make it beautiful. Make it messy. Make it you.

What's your favorite part of writing a duel POV? Do you prefer 1st or 3rd person? Sassy characters? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,