By Wendy M. Barnhart
Oh, mystery and suspense, how I love thee, both to read and to write.
As a reader, I’m working hard to discover whodunnit. As a writer, I’m working hard to prevent the reader from figuring out whodunnit (at least not too early).
In my experience, one tool that works well from both sides of that equation is point of view. Using different POVs, if done well, can be an efficient and fun way to build suspense. After all, suspense isn’t always what’s happening on the page. The gaps between what a character – or characters – knows, and what the reader knows can create tension, uncertainty, alarm, and other juicy emotions.
When the reader knows more than a character, the reader may see the killer hiding in the next room, but the unsuspecting character does not. And when the character walks toward that room, we beg them to stop! But in they go…are they the next victim?
If a character knows more than a reader, the reader knows that one character is a killer, they are hiding in the next room, and when another character walks into that room the reader expects the killer to strike them down, but they don’t. Why not?
What we thought we knew doesn’t match what we read. Hmm…we have some intriguing gaps.
For this discussion, and using POV, we can take those two scenarios and further build on the suspense, the story, the what-just-happened that makes the reader keep reading. Maybe we even sprinkle in some clues.
Perhaps our character is unexpectedly able to defend themselves against the killer. How? We have new information to explore.
Or maybe the killer sees the potential victim and chooses to spare them. Why? Also new information.
The new information is something to chew on, but it isn’t all-revealing. We’ve created uncertainty, curiosity, maybe a little shock, maybe an unreliable perspective. And clues which will make sense later in the story.
Can you put multiple POVs in the same story? Sure. I’m not talking about head-hopping, which is a solid rule breaker. You’ll want separate scenes or chapters for each POV. Will it hurt your brain to write a novel with multiple POVs? Maybe. You do have to be diligent about who said and did what, when, where, and how. But the same is true for your story overall.
In my thriller, “Scaled Vengeance,” I intersperse my protagonist’s POV with chapters from the serial killer(s) and their victims. My objective was to give the reader some insight, clues, and ideas that my protagonist doesn’t have. It’s intense, and sometimes gruesome, but also feeds the moral dilemma running through the novel: if the justice system fails and abusive people are left free to continue hurting others in brutal ways, is it okay if someone else stops them? Every murder, in contrast to all that is happening in my protagonist’s life, further builds suspense in a way that focusing on the protagonists POV alone could not do, so it worked for my process.
Your mileage may vary, but don’t be afraid to work with different POVs in your craft. Experiment. Have fun with it. Just no head-hopping.
As a reader, I’m working hard to discover whodunnit. As a writer, I’m working hard to prevent the reader from figuring out whodunnit (at least not too early).
In my experience, one tool that works well from both sides of that equation is point of view. Using different POVs, if done well, can be an efficient and fun way to build suspense. After all, suspense isn’t always what’s happening on the page. The gaps between what a character – or characters – knows, and what the reader knows can create tension, uncertainty, alarm, and other juicy emotions.
When the reader knows more than a character, the reader may see the killer hiding in the next room, but the unsuspecting character does not. And when the character walks toward that room, we beg them to stop! But in they go…are they the next victim?
If a character knows more than a reader, the reader knows that one character is a killer, they are hiding in the next room, and when another character walks into that room the reader expects the killer to strike them down, but they don’t. Why not?
What we thought we knew doesn’t match what we read. Hmm…we have some intriguing gaps.
For this discussion, and using POV, we can take those two scenarios and further build on the suspense, the story, the what-just-happened that makes the reader keep reading. Maybe we even sprinkle in some clues.
Perhaps our character is unexpectedly able to defend themselves against the killer. How? We have new information to explore.
Or maybe the killer sees the potential victim and chooses to spare them. Why? Also new information.
The new information is something to chew on, but it isn’t all-revealing. We’ve created uncertainty, curiosity, maybe a little shock, maybe an unreliable perspective. And clues which will make sense later in the story.
Can you put multiple POVs in the same story? Sure. I’m not talking about head-hopping, which is a solid rule breaker. You’ll want separate scenes or chapters for each POV. Will it hurt your brain to write a novel with multiple POVs? Maybe. You do have to be diligent about who said and did what, when, where, and how. But the same is true for your story overall.
In my thriller, “Scaled Vengeance,” I intersperse my protagonist’s POV with chapters from the serial killer(s) and their victims. My objective was to give the reader some insight, clues, and ideas that my protagonist doesn’t have. It’s intense, and sometimes gruesome, but also feeds the moral dilemma running through the novel: if the justice system fails and abusive people are left free to continue hurting others in brutal ways, is it okay if someone else stops them? Every murder, in contrast to all that is happening in my protagonist’s life, further builds suspense in a way that focusing on the protagonists POV alone could not do, so it worked for my process.
Your mileage may vary, but don’t be afraid to work with different POVs in your craft. Experiment. Have fun with it. Just no head-hopping.
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