Break on POV change also, or only on Scene Change?

Steven Lake · 11-27-2010, 11:11 AM

Ok, I've got a rather interesting situation situation with a book I'm writing. The main characters are currently in the middle of a firefight and things are drifting back and forth across the battlefield scene wise (which is normal given the way battles typically tend to unfold). The biggest problem that comes of this is that the scene will start out in one area, casually drift over to another, and then snap over to a third, or even back to the original object of the scene.

The biggest problem that comes from this is that after I've casually drifted over to another area, there's a hard cutback to the original character in much the same way you'd have a scene change. However, it's not a change, as the scene originally started out with the focus on the main character, and only wandered over to the other side for a brief moment to get a new perspective on how things were going before returning focus on the main character. Sorta like you turned your head to take in something else nearby and then looked back. But when you look back, it's as though you stepped out of the scene for a bit and just came back in.

So I'm wondering how I should handle this. It's technically not a scene change, and yet the switch back to the main character is a hard cut. Should I actually make a scene break there, or should I find some way to wander back to the main character and avoid the hard cut?

Lemurion · 11-27-2010, 06:23 PM

In a case like this, I'd use the same double-line cut in the manuscript as for a scene break to let the reader know it's going to be a hard cut.

If you're writing in omniscient it's not a scene change regardless, but the real purpose of the break is to make it easier for the reader. Personally I would have used a break to go out of the scene when I wandered away from the focal character and then another to go back to that character, but that's just me.

Hope this helps.

Steven Lake · 11-27-2010, 08:44 PM

Well, I considered doing the hard cut away, but it didn't work, so I used a soft one instead. That's where the problem arose.

11-27-2010, 11:11 AM	#1
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Break on POV change also, or only on Scene Change? Ok, I've got a rather interesting situation situation with a book I'm writing. The main characters are currently in the middle of a firefight and things are drifting back and forth across the battlefield scene wise (which is normal given the way battles typically tend to unfold). The biggest problem that comes of this is that the scene will start out in one area, casually drift over to another, and then snap over to a third, or even back to the original object of the scene. The biggest problem that comes from this is that after I've casually drifted over to another area, there's a hard cutback to the original character in much the same way you'd have a scene change. However, it's not a change, as the scene originally started out with the focus on the main character, and only wandered over to the other side for a brief moment to get a new perspective on how things were going before returning focus on the main character. Sorta like you turned your head to take in something else nearby and then looked back. But when you look back, it's as though you stepped out of the scene for a bit and just came back in. So I'm wondering how I should handle this. It's technically not a scene change, and yet the switch back to the main character is a hard cut. Should I actually make a scene break there, or should I find some way to wander back to the main character and avoid the hard cut?

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11-27-2010, 06:23 PM	#2
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	In a case like this, I'd use the same double-line cut in the manuscript as for a scene break to let the reader know it's going to be a hard cut. If you're writing in omniscient it's not a scene change regardless, but the real purpose of the break is to make it easier for the reader. Personally I would have used a break to go out of the scene when I wandered away from the focal character and then another to go back to that character, but that's just me. Hope this helps.

11-27-2010, 08:44 PM	#3
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Well, I considered doing the hard cut away, but it didn't work, so I used a soft one instead. That's where the problem arose.