LogFAQs > #949858884

Joker98 posted...

When there are different plots, how do you decide whose perspective to write from, and whether to write from 1st or 3rd person?

I always write from 1st, just for the sake of the flow; third person I feel works better in short stories/novellas. But ultimately it comes down to what feels natural for you. Some writers prefer 3rd to 1st, or can mix and match as they see fit.

Regarding the choice of narrator, I try to think of two characters that are opposed (not necessarily antagonists, just from different sides of life in some way) yet if the story is to dovetail, have a "link" that can bring them together. For example, in my first novel the two narrators were a detective and a high school kid, linked together by sisters--the detective's partner and the high schooler's classmate. Although they never encountered each other, the partner did meet the kid, and the classmate, the detective.

So it's possible to write a story with interlinked plots and have the narrators be as ships passing in the night, or even kept completely distinct from each other and carry out "miniature" novels of their own accord, yet when read together function as two pieces of a greater whole.

And of course, the use of alternating narrators is a good trick to keep your mind and writing fresh. Chapter for one, chapter for other, chapter for one and so on.