Long writing thought dump thread incoming, feel free to avert your eyes from me sharing my probably too-strict opinions about choosing character POV...

I think POV is one of the most important choices a fic author can make. Almost everything about the story must follow from this choice--reveals, emotion, meaning, interpretations of other chars' actions...

And bc of how essential POV is to the central storytelling, I think it's almost always a mistake to alternate POV. This is esp true if the narrative tension hinges only on chars not being fully honest about feelings or misinterpreting the other's actions.

It breaks the tension to reveal explicitly the other person is pining just as hard, or they can't get over that one thing that happened, or whatever. And stories are, above all, about maintaining tension, the need to find out what happens next.

Ofc the reader already *knows* there will be a happy ending (or not, based on tags), but the thrill is in the *suspension* of this knowledge. What if the other char actually *isn't* on the same page yet? What other motivations are at play?

There is little dramatic value to a big reveal being the confession of feelings if we already know exactly where both characters stand.

Alternating POV can work too, but I think there has to be something more than just emotions at play. Something else keeping the characters apart, more than just "the confession hasn't happened yet." An external, unpredictable force acting on them. Again, tension.

Worst I think is when the POV switches just for 1 chapter in a long piece. It can't help but feel like parting the curtain, breaking the fourth wall just to say, "Don't worry, this is all just pretend anyway!"

Fic authors don't need to do this; we have tags to promise happy endings.

Essentially, the choice of POV character(s) should stem from the central source of tension in the fic, which may not always be obvious going in. It can actually be a very fun plotting exercise! Try imagining the story from another perspective & see how it would *have* to change.

Anyway, tl;dr: Choosing (& usually maintaining a single) POV character is an essential, far-reaching storytelling choice. Include it as one of your first questions to yourself about any fic you write!