Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I'm revisiting a manuscript which was originally YA fantasy and converting it to a Romance with fantasy elements. It already had a romantic theme, so bringing it to the forefront of the story wasn't much of a stretch. With it being a fantasy originally, it had several character POVs (separated by chapters) beyond the heroine and her love interest. I've stripped out all of the other POVs except for one which I can't seem to convince myself can be cut and still keep the secondary plot intact. So, my question for you:

Can a Romance have more than two character POVs if the third character is not the antagonist or part of a love triangle?

So far, google says no.

My second question: With a complete overhaul of the manuscript and an update to the query letter, can a query that's been previously rejected (just the query, no partial) be re-submitted to the same agent?

Shiver is a great example of a YA paranormal/romance that uses multiple POVs--but only two of them. I'm curious as to what function this third character serves in your story, if not as either of the romantic leads. When is he/she ever in a scene devoid of both lovebirds? Are they some sort of narrator to the tale, who could possibly be turned into a third-person POV instead?

The third character isn't in the scenes with the 2 main characters until about 3/4 into the book. His scenes involve the events that lead up to the peak of the underlying plot, a final battle which drives the 2 main characters together and sets up the storyline for the planned sequel. I could find a way to add the second character to his scenes and just switch that part of the story to the 2nd character's POV, but I'm not sure it would make sense. I could cut it all together and leave questions unanswered, but that's 10,000 words. I was aiming for 80,000 words and was afraid 70,000 just wouldn't cut it...

Interesting. If so many events happen without the main characters being involved, I almost wonder if third person throughout would work better for you. How much insight does the reader gain from getting directly in their heads?

I've read several romances told from more than 2 POV's, but they were written by well-established authors who can pretty much do anything they damn well please, KWIM?

Bohemienne wrote:Interesting. If so many events happen without the main characters being involved, I almost wonder if third person throughout would work better for you. How much insight does the reader gain from getting directly in their heads?

Bohemienne, sorry for the confusion. The point of view is third person. I was referring to the number of character POVs. I appreciate everyone's responses!

taylormillgirl wrote:I've read several romances told from more than 2 POV's, but they were written by well-established authors who can pretty much do anything they damn well please, KWIM?

She pretty much said it all right there. Head-hopping in a romance is no-no. Third person pov is almost never seen and when it is, it's very short and from well-known authors. I HATE this rule - but all my research tells me I have to get over it. Guess I'm just going to have to become a best-seller so I can head-hop all I want...lol - yeah, maybe in 20 years ;-)

~JD