Furry Writers' Guild Forum

Third Person POV

General Writing Discussion
#1

I usually play editor for a friend of mine. The current thing he is having me read is a piece he says is supposed to be in a Third-Person Omniscient POV. I’m so used to reading and writing in Third-Person Limited, so what I keep reading feels more like head hopping to me. Reading through this, I am just about ready to try to ignore all instances of it and keep it moving, but I want to be able to understand what I’m reading, too.

Is there someone here who either has a good grasp of the Third-Person Omniscient POV that can try to explain it to me, or links to places I can explore that might help me understand it better?

#2

I’m glad you posted this, because I’ve been having this problem too.

I reckon if it’s third person omniscient, it not only gets into the head of multiple characters, but also narrates things none of the characters could possibly know, and possibly expresses opinions not the characters’ own. Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett are both good examples of the omniscient POV; they might be writing a section from one character’s perspective, but they will also make more general comments that don’t come from inside the character’s head.

Does that make any sense at all?

#3

I know I dabbled with it a bit without intending to. It’s a hard one to write without it coming off as awkward, since most third person books are limited and therefore even then comes as a specific character’s perspective. I can’t think of any published examples off the top of my head, but I’ll do some poking around.