How many points of view do you need? Literary fiction often aims to show how different people take different perspectives on the same events, so points of view multiply accordingly.
Genre fiction usually has more practical aims—several POVs are needed to cover the entire story and ‘see’ all the action. (For example, when the story is as spread out as in large-scale epic fantasy.) Multiplying POVs beyond what’s needed risks slowing the momentum of the narrative.
Literary writers discovered a simple way to introduce a new point of view: make a section or chapter break, then dive into the new POV without explanation. It’s like re-launching the novel in a new place. The technique works, and it’s available for genre writers too. The only proviso is that if you’re going to do it, you should probably set the pattern early.
(Side-note: setting the pattern early is important for many choices of structural formatting. Let the reader know what to expect in this particular kind of novel. In genre fiction, at least, you don’t want to be suddenly changing patterns halfway through.)
The technique of diving in without explanation is available for genre writers, but generally I prefer a more reader-friendly method. That is, I like to introduce a character from the outside, as seen by someone else, before entering their individual point of view. The reader has some understanding of the character first. We know what we’re getting into!
It’s a matter of reader-interest too. We’re already paying attention to this character, we’re already curious about his or her story. Like line of sight in filmmaking: the camera moves to point where the characters are looking, where the audience wants to look.
Lord of the Rings is a classic example of multiplying points of view as and when needed. We start with Frodo, who gathers Sam, Merry, Pippin and Strider, then Legolas and Gimli as companions. Gradually, these companions turn into independent POV characters, carrying the story out over different narrative strands. But we’re always given time to get to know each character before we’re asked to share their perceptions and thoughts.
I think that’s a great strategy when you need broad coverage for a whole fantasy world. Let the reader see through the eyes of the protagonist first; then develop an emotional involvement with some of the characters in the protagonist’s life; then follow up on those characters individually and have them carry the point of view into areas where the protagonist can’t—or doesn’t have time—to go.
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