Order of Introducing Main Characters

It is important to introduce the heroine's or hero's point of view in a novel before any other important characters appear and give theirs. Readers automatically began to sympathize with the first points of view they encounter. Most writers know this, but I still read a few novels from those who don't, and it's rather disconcerting. 

I actually did this in the first draft of a soon-to-be-released novel. The hero's first marriage is unsuccessful, but his wife dies in childbirth, and he marries a second time. I caught it on my first edit and rewrote it so that the book opens with the second wife preparing to venture west. Then the book continues as before, working in glimpses of the heroine along the way until they meet.

It's also normally a good idea not to write from any other characters' points of view, except that of the hero, heroine, or, on rare occasions, the villain. In the above novel, I did not write from the first wife's point of view at all. Using too many points of view will divide the reader's sympathies. There may be an unusual exception to this, especially in a plot-driven novel, but use this rule as much as possible if you want readers to love your characters and the book.

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