When I first started writing, my books were written from one
character’s viewpoint. It never even occurred to me that I could or should
write from multiple character viewpoints. I was writing from the perspective of
the character I most identified with, which was why she was the protagonist in
the first place.
Most of the books I read as a kid were this way. My favorite
authors were Judy Blume and Lurlene McDaniel and S.E. Hinton. Until I read
Blume’s book Summer Sisters, which came out in 1998, I don’t recall any of
these authors having books with more than one character narrating the story.
As authors, we tend to write the same genres we read.
Authors also stick to the formula and follow the trends. Let me be clear.
That’s not true for every author 100% of the time, but a majority of us stick
to the formula: characters meet, they fall in love, they face obstacles, they
overcome obstacles and they live happily ever after. Since the early days of my
reading were single character viewpoint books that followed the traditionally
accepted formula, I fashioned my writing to be the same. That’s what people
were reading.
It wasn’t until ten years ago, that I branched out and began
telling stories from the viewpoint of the two main characters. And to be
honest, it wasn’t my idea. I’d shared a completed story with an online readers’
group and several people asked why I hadn’t shared the viewpoint of the other
character. Readers felt the story would benefit from being told from both
sides. Taking their suggestion to heart, I revised the story, making many
readers happy.
Since then, I haven’t looked back. All of my stories are
told from the alternating viewpoints of the two main characters. Likewise, most
of the stories I read are written in the same way. I think it’s safe to say
it’s an industry standard at this point.
That’s why I was surprised to run into a book last week told
from only one character’s viewpoint. Having written and read the opposite for
more than ten years, my first instinct was to say the story was lacking. When I
took a step back, I realized this was a me problem. Just because I was used to
things being a certain way didn’t mean the story fell short if it wasn’t.
Taking it a step further, I applaud the author for writing the story her way,
just as I write my stories in the manner I want.
Writing is subjective as is reading. There are some
best-selling books that still get bad reviews. There is no way any one book
will ever be met with a unanimous reaction, good or bad. Writers don’t have to
write what others expect. Instead, they should write what makes them happy. I
guarantee it will make the story better than forcing themselves to do something
they may not be comfortable with.
