More Omniscient

[ann_leckie]

The other day, while I was reading a (published) work of fiction, I came across a passage that seemed to me was a result of the author being determined to write the piece in 3rd person limited, but wanting very badly to do something that would have benefitted very much from the piece being in omniscient POV. Instead, the author had kluged together

Comments

[asakiyume]

The fact that omniscient has a narrator and that limited third isn't more "real" are like two sides of a coin... a coin in the currency of the sleight of hand that goes into telling a story. Omniscient is like the devil taking Jesus up high and showing him the whole world. Hey look, Jesus! Now you can see the whole world! But the fact that it's the devil doing the showing makes a difference. And limited third is the opposite illusion--you're so inside little Jimmy's head, you're seeing the world exactly as little Jimmy sees it! Except no: the author is choosing what things little Jimmy notices for purposes quite distinct from little Jimmy's in-story motivations and desires and personality.

All stories are full of artifice; the ones that seem to have none are clever examples of the artifice you're most in tune with--in many readers' case, this is limited third.