How do you write an entire fantasy party when you’re only inside one character’s head? And how do you make every member of an ensemble feel important without constantly switching perspectives?

This week on Fantasy Writing For Barbarians, Jon Negroni answers a listener question from a longtime Dungeon Master who’s struggling to translate the collaborative storytelling of Dungeons & Dragons into a fantasy novel written in close third person. He breaks down the difference between giving characters useful skills and giving them meaningful dramatic agency, explains when switching POVs is worth the trouble, and makes the case for choosing viewpoint characters based on what they have at stake rather than how much information they possess.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/