Dear Readers,
It’s interesting how a writer’s style evolves. My last three novels have been told from multiple first person points of view: Annabelle and Mercy Mae narrate Rise Up, Sista and Maxi, Jacko, Flora, Papa Bwa, and Leon speak to us in the Maxine Alexander Mystery Series. These days, I am hard at work with my collaborator, Kimarie Hosea, on a historical novel set in Dominica. Riverdale: A Tale of Two Sarahs also has two narrators—enslaved Sarah and Sarah Beth. Both characters have lived at Riverdale Estate, although under drastically diverse circumstances separated by more than 200 years. To make it even more complex, Kimarie is writing one character, and I am writing the other. The challenge from an editorial standpoint is to make these two diverse points of view mesh into a story that flows, is historically correct, and keeps readers engaged.
Shifting perspectives can be tricky, so I’d like to share model we are using to keep Riverdale on track. First-person narrative allows the writer to delve into a character’s internal world. How do they think, and how do they perceive the world around them? My character’s voice comes naturally because she is of the same generation as me. But Kimarie faces the challenge of relating the voice of a 19th century enslaved person without sounding condescending. Regardless, each POV shift must serve a purpose, either to move the plot forward or reveal information.
In terms of format, how should we present the POV characters? Should their chapters alternate in succession like a game of Ping Pong? Or might we use scene breaks within chapters, or even overlap internal monologue within scenes to reveal their POV? Whew. This is getting complicated. In any case, correct and consistent pacing is necessary to avoid reader confusion. We want the reader to be able to tell whose head they’re in within a few lines, and we want to give both characters an equal chance to shine—no sidekicks allowed.
Now, what other literary devices might we use? Should we consider ending chapters with cliffhangers to build suspense, use foreshadowing to motivate reader anticipation? One character obviously knows things the other doesn’t, but since the premise of Riverdale is speculative, it presents plenty of opportunities for conflict and creative storytelling. Yes, historical information is important, but not at the expense of a dynamic storyline.
I hope this information inspires you to widen your horizons, to write outside the box so to speak.
Onward,
KS
Kristine Simelda 