I'm not a writer only a reader, but I think the omniscient POVs that work best for me (rather than just seeming like a confused switching POV) are those that sound clearly like a storyteller with hindsight, telling things from a distance.
I cheat. I used 'techically' limited 3rd person, but I use a character like River Tam. Who knows EVERYTHING everyone is thinking. I'm thinking this won't help you?
Hmm. The narrator having zir own voice is good advice. I tend to slide up and down from a very broad, descriptive point of view (sometimes just fly-on-the-wall descriptive, sometimes very philosophical or historical or metaphysical -- something with an angle, though) to sentences or paragraphs that very much resemble third-person limited. Jumping back and forth between character points of view is usually distracting, though, so be extra careful with transitions.
(I loathe third person omniscient. It completely ruins my suspension of disbelief; I can't get immersed when I'm constantly wondering how a narrator could possibly know what everyone is thinking. The only reasonable answer is "some sort of omniscient being" and that runs up against my "silly" block.)
If you must, you must... but personally I'd stick to a camera's-eye POV if at all possible. For example, you could talk about how someone is shuddering with horror, but not about how they're feeling inside?
Heh. I am not a huge fan of it myself, though I think it can be fun when it's done well, but I can't figure out another way to make this particular story work. And, er, it possibly is being narrated by some sort of omniscient being, but given that it is a story about escaping from hell, I don't think that can necessarily be dismissed as silly.
Ah! Given a fantasy universe where omniscient beings exist, I think it's perfectly reasonable to have such a being narrate. I think that in that case, having the narrator be self-aware (and not just this disembodied, non-self-reflective voiceover) would help. And possibly even some nods to how the narrator knows things. (Telepathy? General vibes in the air? Direct notes about peeking into Our Heroes' minds?) The key for me would be the narrator seeming *real* under the rules of the universe.
I'd avoid the "As you know, gentle reader, things were about to take a disturbing turn!" trope. It sounds horribly hokey and dated, imo.
Comments 23
Reply
the narrator has to have its own voice, yeah.
Reply
Reply
Reply
*thinks*
...I will have to ponder this more.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
(I loathe third person omniscient. It completely ruins my suspension of disbelief; I can't get immersed when I'm constantly wondering how a narrator could possibly know what everyone is thinking. The only reasonable answer is "some sort of omniscient being" and that runs up against my "silly" block.)
If you must, you must... but personally I'd stick to a camera's-eye POV if at all possible. For example, you could talk about how someone is shuddering with horror, but not about how they're feeling inside?
Reply
Reply
I'd avoid the "As you know, gentle reader, things were about to take a disturbing turn!" trope. It sounds horribly hokey and dated, imo.
Reply
Leave a comment