Issues over use of narrator?

[powerplay]

I am having a problem with a novel I am writing, because the story focuses on about 6 characters. Now obviously I could have the narrator be telling the story and have no involvement, but in this case I want one character in particular to be able to express his personal feelings, desires in certain situations so it would make sense to use this character as the narrator. The problem is there are chapters(sections) of the story that he is not involved in (even if only for a few pages.) Can I have a narrator John Doe who is part of story and still have detail/events about characters b and c independent of him?

[La Reine]

I am having a problem with a novel I am writing, because the story focuses on about 6 characters. Now obviously I could have the narrator be telling the story and have no involvement, but in this case I want one character in particular to be able to express his personal feelings, desires in certain situations so it would make sense to use this character as the narrator. The problem is there are chapters(sections) of the story that he is not involved in (even if only for a few pages.) Can I have a narrator John Doe who is part of story and still have detail/events about characters b and c independent of him?

Well, what genre are you writing the story? Is it "literary" fiction?

You can break up the chapters so that even though you have an omniscient narrator there will be sections where each individual character (or whichever characters you choose) tell a specific chapter in the first person.

In most fiction the narrator wouldn't be able to get into other character's heads, only perhaps speculate as to what their thinking. You, as the author, can then give clues that lead the reader to the write choice.

[maestrowork]

You can have a 3rd limited POV following your one character. Then you can have 3rd person objective following the other characters in scenes in which that one character is not involved.

As long as you don't mix POVs during a scene, you'll be okay.

[Jamesaritchie]

I am having a problem with a novel I am writing, because the story focuses on about 6 characters. Now obviously I could have the narrator be telling the story and have no involvement, but in this case I want one character in particular to be able to express his personal feelings, desires in certain situations so it would make sense to use this character as the narrator. The problem is there are chapters(sections) of the story that he is not involved in (even if only for a few pages.) Can I have a narrator John Doe who is part of story and still have detail/events about characters b and c independent of him?

Each character can be told from third person limited, as long as you do so one at a time. There's no reason at all not to have a third person limited narrator for each character.

[jules]

I am having a problem with a novel I am writing, because the story focuses on about 6 characters. Now obviously I could have the narrator be telling the story and have no involvement, but in this case I want one character in particular to be able to express his personal feelings, desires in certain situations so it would make sense to use this character as the narrator. The problem is there are chapters(sections) of the story that he is not involved in (even if only for a few pages.) Can I have a narrator John Doe who is part of story and still have detail/events about characters b and c independent of him?

As I understand you, you're talking about writing in first person, but including sections (presumably in third person) that the first person narrator wasn't present for.

If so, yours certainly wouldn't be the first book to use this format. See, for instance, Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned.

[powerplay]

Thanks to everyone for all the responses. I am starting to realize that writing a novel is an absolute monster compared to writing short fiction.
Someone asked if my work is literary fiction? Based on my understanding of the term I would say no. It's more genre as in humor based, similar to something like Palahuniuk's (sp) Choke, but without all the skill.