Biggest Wattpad Pet Peeves

Multiple POV Disorder

I feel like a lot of Wattpadders have Multiple POV Disorder. It's like Multiple Personality Disorder, except not. (Actually, I think that may not be the actual name... But it's been three years since I've taken psychology, so I don't remember exactly...)

It's where the author seems to get high on switching POVs like there's no tomorrow.

By the way, if you aren't familiar with the term POV (in which case you probably haven't taken AP world with its stupid DBQs - lucky you), it stands for point of view.

Another by the way, do you call people on Wattpad "Wattpadders" like I do, "Wattpaddians", or something else entirely? Is there an official name?

Oops. Off topic yet again.

I think for the most part, you should only have one POV per chapter. Not two, not three, not twenty gazillion, not 727482291739. In some rare cases it may work well with more than one (by which I mean like 2, not 20 gazillion), but unless you're ABSOLUTELY sure your book is that case, I'd try to avoid it.

I did it one or two times in my book - I hope it worked well. But I'm actually considering breaking those chapters into two to split up the different POVs.

And by way, I'm talking about third person here. That's easier to understand even if there's changes in POV. Please don't switch first person POVs in the same chapter. It's too much for my brain to comprehend. Like if I don't notice it changed, I get all confused. For example:

Bob's POV

I walked into the room and blah blah blah blah... *insert paragraphs of boring story*

Sally's POV (but I don't see this so I still think it's Bob)

...blah blah blah blah and Bob walked into the room.

Wait, what? Do we have two Bob's here, or did he suddenly develop a desire to speak in third person? No, 'cause how can he walk into a room he's already in? *scrolls up* *realizes it wasn't Bob's POV after all* Oh.

Even worse is when the author changes POV just to show the EXACT SAME THING in everyone's point of view. Consider:

Bob's POV

The doorbell rang. I jumped up to get it.

Sally's POV

The doorbell rang. Bob jumped up to get it.

Puppy's POV

The doorbell rang. My owner jumped up to get it.

Random-kid-skateboarding-past's POV

Someone rang the doorbell on that house I'm passing. Someone else answered it.

Neighbor's POV

I rang the doorbell. Bob got it.

Discuss. (Okay, I'm pretty sure 99.99% of you did not get that reference, but it made me happy. See? ----> =D )

Anywho, no one CARES. We can understand what's happening based on ONE POV! Take your pick! I'd recommend Bob, or maybe Sally, but if the puppy makes you happy, then go for it. I'd probably steer clear of the random-kid-skateboarding-past though.

Oh, and I know that those were grammatically incorrect in that Bob is actually getting the doorbell (which is supposed to be firmly attached to the wall - he better get it fixed). That's intentional. It's like satire or some other word I learned in English class that I can't remember at the moment.

Worst of all is when they do what I told you in the "even worse" part, but they tell you absolutely NOTHING in all of those POVs. You'd think with all those POVs SOMEONE would say something worth listening to, right? Nope.

This tends to happen when the author is attempting a cliffhanger. Note: attempting. More later.

Bob's POV

The door opened, and in walked...

Sally's POV

The door opened, and in walked...

Puppy's POV

The door opened, and in walked...

Mystery POV

I opened the door and walked in.

A/N: Mwahahaha I left you guys with a cliffhanger!!!! I know you all hate me now. Hope you all liked this chapter!!!Baaaii xx

I really hope my complaint with this one was self-explanatory.

Since I mentioned it, don't write "mystery POV". It sounds amateurish, to me. If we don't know who it is, then don't tell us anything. I think THAT way is more mysterious.

So if any of you are one of the unfortunate souls with Multiple POV Disorder, I have a prescription for you. Try using a little something called "third person omniscient POV". Get this - this is basically third person everybody's POV! That means you can show the POV of whoever you want without showing symptoms of Multiple POV Disorder and frantically changing POV left and right and confusing your readers. Yippee!

This medication is my Christmas present to you. Merry (early, or late depending on your perspective) Christmas, everyone!