this english major and one-time writer HATES head hopping. it should be banned. of course, i'm talking the mid-scene sudden "hey, how they heck am i over here" variety. the usual shift between the *two* (and most writing should involve just two) main characters at scene/chapter breaks is acceptable. novel length expected and welcome. shorter short story length, you should pick a character and stay with them.
head-hopping is simply a sign of weakness on the part of the author not being able to effectively write, or trying to convey too much. it is a bad habit that should be broken early on. you loose tension by revealing all points of view, not to mention you confuse/annoy/piss off the reader.
there are authors -- huge bestselling authors, no less -- i refuse to read because of constant head-hopping. i remember making it to page five of one book and having to throw it across the room because i got the POV of the f**ing dog in the middle of a paragraph that already contained 3 POVs. laziness, weakness and crap.
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head-hopping is simply a sign of weakness on the part of the author not being able to effectively write, or trying to convey too much. it is a bad habit that should be broken early on. you loose tension by revealing all points of view, not to mention you confuse/annoy/piss off the reader.
there are authors -- huge bestselling authors, no less -- i refuse to read because of constant head-hopping. i remember making it to page five of one book and having to throw it across the room because i got the POV of the f**ing dog in the middle of a paragraph that already contained 3 POVs. laziness, weakness and crap.