How many sub-plots are too many? When are there too many POV’s? Too many characters?
Example – A suspense/mystery novel I just finished by an author new to me, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb, brought these questions up – and had me thinking about their relevance in children’s books. Particularly as we write stories of greater length, they are important points to consider, but they can be equally important in picture books.
In novels, I enjoy those which utilize more than one POV. What comes to mind is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, an excellent book. Each chapter is written, on an unevenly rotating basis, from one of the family member’s POV as they all try and come to grips with the harrowing situation to which their husband and father has brought them. Each writer’s POV is unique, yet always moves the overall story forward, while masterfully intertwining the relationships of each family member.
In contrast, while it is a good read in many ways, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter has too many characters to keep track of and too many sub-plots going on, one of which seems irrelevant to the overall story. The POV remained omniscient throughout and was clear, but I found myself wondering why certain characters and their seemingly separate story were included.
These same points need to be considered when writing children’s books. I notice in my own writing, I tend towards more than one POV. This is fine if a) done well and b) if it’s suitable for the reader of that particular story. I’ve been reworking one of my picture books, in which, while I find two POV’s working for me, they will not work for the age child who reads a picture book. 4-7 year olds are not yet that sophisticated in their comprehension skills and will be confused.
Keeping our chosen genre(s) and their audiences in mind is critical to a story’s success. We can observe in anything we read what is working and what is not, especially the books we absolutely love, and how that applies in our own writing. Does the story have more than one POV? Should it? Are there too many characters for our intended audience to remember? If there is a sub-plot, is it so relevant that the reader will find it totally compelling? Or might it become confusing?
I think what we all strive for is writing the book that our reader cannot put down. And to that end, everything we read can enlighten our own writing.
Still A Dreamer 
tell Faulkner –too many—hmm–yet some readers do have problems with more than two…
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ps–audience and purpose dictating writing?
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I haven’t read Faulkner in so long, I’m embarrassed, but now you make me want to go find him – he’s on a bookshelf here somewhere!
Audience determines the level of writing, but the best writing is dictated by the heart, I think.
Peeked at your blog and will visit later when done working. Thanks for stopping by –
Jeanne
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I agree–best writing does come from the heart–it’s nice when that ‘merges’ with the dicatates of the marketplace.
Oh blog–lol–that’s a lot of play/fun. Thanks for peeking, hope something there makes you laugh–or give pause for a moment.
As for Faulkner–finding him long ago was a sort of ‘relief’ for my mind–I could follow his writing and how it reflects the complexity of human thought.
Also–I’ve had the ‘too many’ comment way too many times when it comes to whatever I write–too many characters, too many long sentences, too many ideas et al…at first it bothered me–until I thought about all the books/plays/poems/essays I enjoy the most–and guess what–they all have “too many” . I decided to NOT underestimate the potential audience–but to expect them to take a leap out into space –as does Faulkner, Joyce, Shakespeare, Erdrich, etc…
–‘good working time’ to you…later
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I enjoy reading more than two POV, but, unfortunately, people get confused when writers use more than two or even one point of view.
I enjoy writing short stories in the main character’s point of view because that way I’m able to put myself in the character’s place, although when you write in a character’s point of view you need to be careful not to put “your own thoughts” in it…for example, Paohlo Coehlo(spelling?) in his novel called “Eleven Minutes” one of his mistakes was that he was putting his own thoughts into the character, a woman who hadn’t studied or had any knowledge of the outside world besides Brazil had come to know a lot of things and gave such deep meaning about some of life’s values and feelings…at the beginning you are in awe, since the story is pretty good, but there’s a moment in time when er thoughts start seeming more like the writer’s, so, people, be careful when you write in first-person.
http://xxhawkeyexx.wordpress.com/
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White Buffalo – asking our readers to take a leap is something we discuss even in picture books. While we don’t want – nor could we sell – a story with over-their-heads vocabulary, having words in there that encourage them to reach is really good. Plus usually the 4-7 year olds are having an adult read to them, so the opportunity is there for explanation. I’m all for having to use our brains!
xxhawkeyexx – I’m chuckling because it’s kind of sad that people would become confused following more than one POV, but a lot has to be said for how well it’s done. To us, it obviously enriches the whole experience, but people are different.
First person can be tricky, as you’ve described it. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility of an author infusing him/herself into a character who could not possibly have those experiences or knowledge. Great point!
Jeanne
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There’s no such thing as too many characters in a novel. Sufficiently smart people can keep track of any amount.
An omniscient narrator only needs one POV, regardless of how many characters there are in the story.
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I disagree – there should only be the amount of characters that are needed to tell the story and to move it forward. It’s not a matter of how many characters people can remember; it’s whether or not they’re needed to make the best story possible. That may be 2; it may be 200.
And an omniscient narrator is one way to go, but that may or may not serve the author in telling his or her story in the most engaging way possible. Writing the novel one can’t put down needs to consider many variables in what best serves the story. Some people write from the omniscient POV brilliantly while others are masters of multiple POV’s – it’s what makes reading – and writing – so engrossing.
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