Louise Harnby: Watch out for head-hopping

So many misunderstandings could possibly be averted if, in real life, we were able to hop into other people’s heads.

In contrast, hopping amongst various heads in fiction can lead to far more confusion.

Editor Louise Harnby illustrates what head-hopping within a single scene — as opposed to changing point-of-view (or viewpoint) characters as you change scenes or chapters — looks like.

And she also explains why it should be avoided, while providing a checklist to help remind you what each type of character can access.

Check out her complete description of and recommendations for avoiding head-hopping on her blog.

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• Choosing a narrative point of view for your story

• One author's tips on writing from multiple points of view