too many rabbits

[marycatelli]

One problem I've run into, reading a number of books, is that the writer starts too many rabbits.  We get four or five major characters in POV scenes in the opening chapter, in succession.  Short opening scenes.

Too many.  It leaves the book unfocused and me wondering which way the story is going.  And whether all these characters really are important as they appear to be.  Even in a multi-POV multithread story.

Bonus points if there are no connections given between the characters and their scenes.  (Especially if the world is falling apart even before it got introduced to us properly.)

I like the way The Lord of the Rings handled you.  After the first, we never get a POV character without first seeing him through the eyes of another POV character.  (Well, except the fox.  Then, he goes away quickly.)  Wouldn't work for every story, but some way of organizing besides a jumble up front, even if it becomes clear later.

Comments

[scbutler.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. The dependence on multiple POVs in a lot of books these days drives me crazy. Call me old-fashioned (and I do so myself), but it does water down a story. If everyone's equal (including the fox), where's the focus?

[marycatelli]

Well, some books need it, but then they also need sufficient structure to hold it together. Opening with a whole slew of different POVs is like handing someone an armload of ping-pong balls -- hard to hold together.