Dear Editor…
In the beginning of my story, the three main characters are hailing from different places. I have a POV for each. As the secondary characters meet up with my heroine, they lose their POV, leaving the only POV to my heroine. Is that too confusing?
Sincerely,
K.
UPDATE: K. sent a clarification of her question, so this wording is different than what was posted earlier today, and my answer has been adjusted accordingly. — The Editor
Dear K….
This seems to be the age of multiple points of view. I don’t recall it being done nearly as often twenty years ago, when I started my editorial career. Writers are telling some fabulous stories using this device nowadays. As for whittling down from many POVs to just a single point-of-view character, I think it could be effective as long as the transitions are synced with the rhythms of the story and you’re very clear about each character being silenced. It’s not uncommon for two characters’ points of view to merge into a single narrator’s POV, and I don’t think your audience will be confused by three if there’s some obvious plot event that seems to cause that silence, or some other distinct justification for the shift. Readers, I’d love to hear of any novels you know about that start with more than two POVs and whittle down in this manner.
Happy writing!
The Editor