We’ve all heard it said before: There are two sides to every story. Sometimes writers take this adage quite literally when they decide the novel they’re dreaming up would best be told through two different perspectives. Writing from the vantage point of two narrators, or dual points of view (POVs), can add a richness and complexity to your story that a single point of view may not. Imagine if we only had Nick’s side of the story in Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Or only Amy’s. Without dual POVs in Alison Cochrun’s The Charm Offensive, we might have only experienced half the humor, half the heat.
Of course, writing from two perspectives can also feel like twice the amount of work. In order to successfully pull off this kind of narrative, you’ll need to have two separate character arcs, two plotlines that intertwine or converge, and two distinct voices and personalities. So, before putting in all that effort, it’s probably helpful to ask yourself one very important question: Why?
Why would this story benefit from being told in two points of view? Would a second perspective add a layer of something that couldn’t be achieved with just one? More dramatic suspense? More romantic tension? A better
