More on Point of View

I'm still reading Inkspell* (don't laugh! I'm also reading Life of Pi* and Playful Parenting* and I only get a few minutes a day to gulp down a page or so), but I'm finding this a very interesting example of a multiple viewpoint book. It is addressing a lot of issues I was exploring in my planning.

• The need (or not) for symmetry: trying to arrange equal "airtime" for all the viewpoint characters. This is what a planner's heart wants to aim for, but organically it flows better if symmetry is not forced.
• Using a different point of view at each chapter change (or not). In Inkspell some chapters continue with the same viewpoint character for three or four chapters, which I like as it allows a little more time to get to know some of the characters.
• How long can a character be left in limbo before the reader starts to wonder what happened, or, gasp, forgets about that particular character? One character in Inkspell is badly wounded and we don't return to this story strand for 43 pages. I found the gap a bit long; I thought one of the later check-in chapters could've been brought in earlier without affecting the timeline.
• Character dominance. Where several characters are viewpoint characters in their respective chapters, who takes precedence for point of view when these characters meet in a chapter? A few times in Inkspell the dominance is chosen for one chapter with the following chapter told from the point of view of the other character. There is no omniscience or mixing of viewpoints.
• The viewpoint character is quite clearly established within the first line or two of each chapter in most cases.

I think with just three viewpoint characters I will have a much easier time getting a little bit of that symmetry I'm after while retaining the sense of flow.

*Book Depository is a better option for non-US book buyers.