The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Choosing the Best POVs for a Multi-POV Novel

Apr 11, 2024

Guest agent Jo Ramsay and hosts discuss the importance of plot and stakes in queries, first lines in novels, psychological depth in characters, and risks of having too many POVs. Author Fiona Williams talks about her debut novel with multiple POVs, writing from children's perspectives, and potential character conflation.

01:00:36

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Episode guests

Jo Ramsay

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Choosing the best POV in a multi-POV novel requires careful consideration of character perspectives and depth.

Highlighting stakes and avoiding excessive backstory are essential aspects of crafting a compelling query for literary agents.

Beginning a novel with a different character's perspective can create intrigue, but emotional depth is crucial for reader engagement.

Deep dives

Character-Driven Novel Set-up: A Complex Storyline of Female Rage and Revenge

The novel 'Touched' is a multi-POV women's fiction narrative following four women affected by one man's misconduct. Madeline, a young attorney, faces upheaval after an assault by Benji Jenkins, triggering a series of events over six years. Themes of power, justice, and feminist accountability drive the story, blending dark cultural commentary and themes of vengeance. The ensemble cast, including Madeline, Eleanor, and Alexa, confronts destructive systems and societal norms, examining what it truly means to be feminist and to hold oneself accountable.

Introduction

3min

Critique of 'Secret Rivers' Query Letter

17min

Exploring Female Rage and Vengeance in 'Touched'

17min

Language Learning and Hormone Harmony

5min

Introducing Author of 'The House of Broken Bricks'

2min

Exploring Family Dynamics and Career Shifts

3min

Exploring the Art of Writing Multi-POV Novels

18min

Appreciating Debut Writing and Introducing Memoir Writing Event

2min

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by guest agent, Jo Ramsay, to critique two queries. They discuss the issue of withholding too much plot in a query; highlighting the stakes in your query; the importance of first lines in a novel; the need for psychological depth and acuity in your characters; the issue of comping to titles that are hugely successful; the risk of having too many POVs in a novel; avoiding too much backstory in your query; and the problems with a reader being too removed from a scene, even if it's done intentionally.

After which, guest interviewer, Bronwen Keyes-Bevan from BoolaBos magazine interviews author and winner of the Bridport Prize for literary fiction, Fiona Williams. They discuss Fiona's debut novel, The House of Broken Bricks; her background in biological sciences and her shift to creative writing; the expert use of figurative language; how Fiona tackled writing four different points of view, and her reasoning for choosing certain perspectives for certain characters; writing from children's POVs; and Fiona's feelings around the potential of being conflated with some of her characters.

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

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Fiona is on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/feewilliams75

and Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/fionawilliamswrites/

Bronwen can be found at www.boolabos.com and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/boola.bos/ and at https://www.instagram.com/bronwenkeyesbevan

Jo can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thejoramsay/

Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is now available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15

To sign up for the All About Memoir webinar on the 11^th of May, go to: https://www.biancamarais.com/all-about-memoir.html

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The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Choosing the Best POVs for a Multi-POV Novel

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Character-Driven Novel Set-up: A Complex Storyline of Female Rage and Revenge

Query Letter Analysis: Crafting Compelling Story Comparisons

Engaging Setup with Subtle Emotional Depth: Alexa's Story Unfolds

Rosetta Stone: The Ultimate Language Learning Program

Hormone Harmony: Empowering Women's Health with Science-backed Solutions

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts