Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Okay, POV's are so....

Okay, I guess I have very specific ideas about points of view and changing point of view in something that I'm reading. I mean, in my opinion- and that's all it is, my opinion- it should be easy to tell whose head I'm supposed to be in when I'm reading a story. Is it the hero or the heroine who is trying to decide what to do? Is it the hero or the heroine who is looking at a happy family with bittersweet longing? When an author isn't clear about whose POV is in the forefront, it's very confusing to the reader- to me anyway. I'm currently reading a book- the only specific info I'll give is that it's a Harlequin SuperRomance- and the author of this book head hops. The beginning of the chapter starts out in the heroine's POV and three paragraphs later- without any kind of definable break- we're in the hero's head.

So tell me, when reading a book, do you like head hopping or do you like to stay in one POV for a time so you can get to better know the character?
Do you like it when the POV change is obvious or not so obvious or completely hidden? Does it bother you when you're reading along and all of a sudden realize you are no longer in the POV you thought you were and you have to go back and figure out where it changed?