Last week we discussed first person POV, and this week we are going to focus on third person omniscient narration. This is when you narrate a story from an outside perspective as if you’re watching a play on stage. It’s a bit like playing god. You can jump to any place and any time. Show any character’s thoughts, feelings, and desires. You watch the story unfold from above and tell the reader what you want them to know.
Third Person Omniscient POV
Third person omniscient lets you cover more with less words. If your goal is to span lots of time, space, and characters—then this POV is for you. Let me give you an example in third person omniscient and then first person so you can see what I mean.
Susan was out of place at the charity gala and wanted to leave. She preferred gatherings with laughter, loud music, and crude jokes.
I hesitated at the edge of another circle of millionaires. I didn’t know how to talk to these people. Usually, I’d walk up and tell a joke, but this crowd didn’t seem like the kind that would appreciate a curse word in the punch line. Turning to head toward the exit, I decided to put my fifty dollars in the collection box and hit up a bar. I planned to stick with giving to online charities and to forget getting more involved in these things.
As you can see, the first telling in third person omniscient is much shorter but gives all the details. The second is more intimate, but it takes longer to portray the same information. You can be more straightforward in third person omniscient. Susan would not say she was out of place or call her jokes crude, but a separate narrator can do that without breaking character voice.
Pros And Cons Of Third Person Omniscient
Third person omniscient is good for writing humor. It allows the narrator to point out irony or contradictions without breaking character. The omniscient narrator can make fun of characters, but a first person or even third person limited narrator doing the same thing would risk making that character seem harsh in the reader’s eyes. A bystander looking in on the story can make fun of it all he wants. I’m not saying that humor can’t be accomplished when writing other POVs, but third person omniscient is set up to do it well.
When writing in third person omniscient, you sacrifice distance to the story. Everything is seen from a bird’s eye, and the reader misses out on any real connection with the characters. This POV allows you to play with language and prose at the cost of the story. Most readers will want to keep reading because they find the narrator intriguing more than the story. Obviously, you have to have a good story as well, but this POV is more forgiving than others in that area. If you’re a strong writer but struggle with a good story line or characters, this POV is for you.
Final Thoughts
Third person omniscient is a less intimate way to narrate a story. You can bounce from one person’s thoughts to another’s, but you have to be careful not to jar the reader out of the story. Head-hopping can be overdone and kill the story momentum. However, an omniscient POV can make a well-rounded story and provide great opportunities for narration humor. If you prefer to focus more on prose and less on story, omniscient POV is for you.
Thanks for reading!
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