Definition
Head-hopping is shifting point of view within a scene so readers jump from one character's thoughts to another's without clear signal, breaking immersion.
Example
One paragraph inside his fear, the next inside her jealousy, with no scene break, is head-hopping in close third person.
Related terms
Common mistakes
- Confusing legitimate multiple POV novels with head-hopping when chapters stay separated.
- Fixing head-hopping by adding thought tags instead of anchoring one POV per scene.