Failure ModesIntermediate
Head-Hopping
POV shifts mid-scene without preparation, costing the reader their footing.
Principle
Each scene should belong to a perspective; movement between perspectives must be earned.
Takeaways
- Brief slips are felt even when invisible.
- Omniscient narration permits movement; close third does not.
- Plan transitions; do not let them happen by accident.
Overview
Head-hopping is the unintended movement between characters' inner lives within a single scene. It costs the reader the steady ground their identification depends on.
Examples
- A close-third scene briefly enters another character's thought to deliver information.
- A romance scene names what each lover is thinking simultaneously.
- A POV drifts to a stranger to relay reaction.