We Know All and See All

Continuing on my series regarding point of view, it’s time to focus on the other third person option available to writers - third person omniscient.

Let me first define the POV.  Third Person Omniscient is characterized as an overarching narrator that can dip into any character and see what they see, hear their thoughts.  Poorly done this is the “head hopping” POV.  Note I said poorly done.  Multiple books exist that have done this wonderfully.

What’s the advantage of using this POV?

Sometimes, you just need to know all that’s going on.  Looking down from Mount Olympus and observe the world.  This POV allows just that.  You have almost no limits to what you tell the reader when.  If you know it, and it fits the present story situation, tell it!  Okay, not really, but it does offer a more open story telling style.  It allows examination of all the characters in a scene, simply by switching who’s head you’re sitting in at the time. 

I’ve heard some writers say this is one of the most difficult POV to use, because the balance of narrator information and thoughts has to develop just right.

So where’s my disadvantage?

I started to address this in the last section, but let me be more specific here.  Balance is definitely the key here.  If you spend too much time going from character to character, readers will declare a “bad case of head hopping” and drop the story.  I’ve seen people use this POV and say the story was too cold, too impersonal, just because they felt no connection to the characters. 

So when should I use third person omniscient POV?

I can’t state for a fact that this story always makes a good third person omniscient POV or that the story is horrible as one.  Most times, I suggest looking at the scope of the story.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

- How focused does the story need to be?

- Do actions outside the narrator’s view factor into the story that maybe you’ll need to reveal before the narrator knows? 

- Will the story revolve around more than the narrator and/or the main character? 

Think about these questions as you begin to write, allow yourself to dissect the story’s needs, then pick the proper POV for that story.

He did what, with who, for how much?

Continuing on my series regarding point of view, I’m going to skip second person for now and address one of the third person styles.  I’ve heard it called third person focused or third person limited.  Both offer the same concept.

Let me first define the POV.  Third Person Limited is characterized by the standard third person pronouns - he, she, it, they.  It is similar to First Person in that everything in the story filters through the view point character, but the reader has taken a step back from the characters.

What’s the advantage of using this POV?

Not all stories need the intimate closeness of the first person POV, but they do need a narrowing of the focus.  This selection allows that narrowing without having to talk with the I pronoun.  It also allows you to see things from just one character, not worry about the fifty others in the room.  You might still get a glimpse of the character’s thoughts, but the narrator has more filter than the main character.

So where’s my disadvantage?

Readers will comment that stories written in this point of view don’t feel as easy to connect with the characters.  Some stories won’t work well with the limits this presents.  You’ll not be able to give the reader enough information or will have to give them too much, based strictly on what the characters sees and experiences.  

So when should I use third person limited POV?

I can’t state for a fact that this story always makes a good third person limited POV or that story is horrible as one.  Most times, I suggest looking at the scope of the story.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

- How focused does the story need to be?
- Do actions outside the narrator’s view factor into the story that maybe you’ll need to reveal before the narrator knows? 
- Will the story revolve around more than the narrator and/or the main character? 

Think about these questions as you begin to write, allow yourself to dissect the story’s needs, then pick the proper POV for that story.

It’s all about me

So let’s talk about some of these point of view options that I mentioned.  What I’ll try to do is offer the pros and the cons of using each point of view.  Today, I think I’ll focus on the first person POV.

Just as a refresher, first person point of view is the one where the pronouns are all related to self. I and me will litter the text outside the dialogue.  Some we may also appear.  Everything the writer offers comes through the main narrator’s thoughts.

A good book that shows the good use of this point of view is Hunger Games by Susanne Collins.

What’s the advantage of using this POV?

This is a good point of view when your main character sees all the necessary action and reacts to it.  You see, hear, and feel everything that character experiences.  Everything of importance flows right through your narrator, so your plot will move. 

Most readers will say that this offers a direct connection to the character, allow them to identify with them easier.  They are directly in the narrator’s head, so they find thoughts and feelings easier.

So where’s my disadvantage?

The disadvantage is just as linked to the character as the advantage.  Your scope is limited as you write.  You can’t offer details from what’s happening across the room unless you move the character’s focus to that point.  If something happened two days ago, but your character doesn’t know about it, you can’t reveal it UNTIL the character learns about it. 

Also, depending on the scene, it may be too close for certain scenes.  Imagine the pain and suffering a character getting beaten senseless suffers.  Do you want your reader right there as each punch hits?  For some, yes, for others, no. 

I’ve mentioned twice the idea of narrator, instead of main character.  This is an important distinction.  Your narrator is telling the story, but your main character doesn’t have to be your narrator.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did this with Sherlock Holmes.  Doctor Watson narrated the story, though Holmes was your main character.

I bring this up because it is something that could be either a positive or a negative.  I’ll expand on the concept in another post, but what I want to point out is what literary gurus call the unreliable narrator.  This refers to the storyteller not telling all the proper details, or fracturing the details based on their bias.  The first person narrator could come across as a wonderful narrator, or they could prove unreliable.  How you write the character will dictate whether they are or not.

So when should I use first person POV?
I can’t state for a fact that this story always makes a good first person POV or that one is horrible as one.  Most times, I suggest looking at the scope of the story.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How focused does the story need to be?
- Do actions outside the narrator’s view factor into the story that maybe you’ll need to reveal before the narrator knows? 
- Will the story revolve around more than the narrator and/or the main character? 

Think about these questions as you begin to write, to decide if you want to use first person point of view.

I need the camera over here now!

Every story has a focal point, or the place where the reader views the events. The broad term for this focal point is known as Point of View, or POV. I’ve mentioned this as something to watch in earlier blog posts, but here I want to dig in and discuss it. When I really dig into it in depth, I’ll do a blog post on each.

I could bring out the dictionary or the writing library and give the technical definition of what the writing world means by POV. Instead, I am going to stick with a layman’s definition so anyone can understand it.

POV is Who controls the camera if the story is a word movie.

Some of us see the scenes in our head as we write. For them, the above makes perfect sense. For those who don’t see the scenes, it probably doesn’t.

Another option – POV comes from whoever is narrating your story.

Ah, that allows me to discuss this a little more. Technically, we have three broad categories of POV: 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person. These are just the broad categories, each category has sub headings. Each has their benefits and drawbacks. Some stories work better with different categories than others.  Let’s just review the basics here.

1st person:  These are the stories written with “I” statements.  Your main character tells the story through their eyes and from their perspective. It’s filtered through their experiences.

2nd person: These are stories written with “you” statements.  I admit they’re more rare than the other two categories.  A way to consider it, for me at least: they feel like a hypnotist directing your experience.

3rd person:  These are stories written with the gender pronouns “he, she, they, it” statements. From my experience, these are the most prolific out there. They are also broken down further to explain additional camera movements.

I menitoned that each POV has its benefits and detractors.  I'll go into more details on those in other posts. For now, consider the camera metaphor for a minute. When you're dealing with first person, the camera is the same as the main character's eyes. Third person has more play with where the camera goes. This opens many different thoughts.

For now, I'll leave this as a primer, with more information to follow.