It’s always interesting seeing something from another person’s point of view.  Even more interesting when you can understand the motivation behind that POV.

PBW did a post about alternate worldbuilding and it reminded me of an idea I had last night while I was driving (why do all the lightning bolts strike when I’m driving?) and I hadn’t really written down or fleshed it out much.   Now I know what’s on my plate today, jotting down these ideas before I lose them.

PBW asked “Do you find any benefits from shifting POV or changing circumstances?”

I usually don’t switch around much when I’m working on something, beyond the POVs of the heroine and the hero.  Those are ones telling the story and that’s usually what I concern myself with.

But while I was driving (why always then…) I was thinking thru one of my current WIPs, trying to figure out the conflict, how the antagonist was going to work his way into the book and bam…it hit me.  I had been thinking thru the makeup of one of the characters already in the book and suddenly, I knew how to do it.  There are things that he does, things he will do and it all relates back to one specific thing.  It made perfect sense.  It was right there, all along, just waiting for me to actually see it.

Shifting POV can definitely help.  Not necessarily while you’re writing (although I do that…a lot), but just when you’re picking thru the hows, whys and whatifs of a story.