Why did I switch between types of point of view in The Dragon and The Ranger? (First POV and Second POV)

My motivation for trying second person point of view came from an article I read that stated it was even “closer” than first person point of view, and I was struggling with the closeness of first person, so why not push beyond it, and then come back to it? That was the thought process I had. I didn’t plan on falling in love with the story and the characters.

However, once I realized I had started a book length project, I didn’t want to write the whole book in second person point of view.

Doing some research on second person point of view books led me through a few books and onto Ashlords and Bloodsworn by Scott Reintgen, a MG and YA author whose work I admire.

In Ashlords and Bloodsworn, Reintgen writes with three characters in three different viewpoints – first, second, and third. Wildly, it works. The points of view suit each character and becomes a part of their characterization and development in a way that I found incredibly brilliant and satisfying to read.

I wanted to try something similar with The Dragon and The Ranger, yet also something different. In the current version on Kindle Vella, there are only two points of view – first and second.

In another draft, one that might be the one that goes to a final book/eBook publishing process, there are a handful of “letter” chapters written in first person point of view, with some third person narrative asides. I don’t know if they are necessary to the story – I did include a bit of some of the letters in the Kindle Vella version, as the characters read them, but I am still debating on whether these will be “extras” in the full published version later. These letters have been through the same editorial process as the rest of the novel, but I decided to keep some of them out in the Kindle Vella version, and maybe for always. Maybe they are backmatter that only I need to know as an author.

So, part of my reason for writing The Dragon and The Ranger as I did, with dual points of view in first and second person, was out of admiration for authors who have done it so well before me, like Scott Reintgen and N.K. Jemisin.

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