Breaking up POV Help...

Yeah, send me a few chapters. The only way I can comment is if I see the work. I do not know that some people even totally know what is meant by 3rd person omnscient- are you sure it is not limited? How many people "think" and you can change chapters and character sets.

Also, a few Betas are not a publishing industry.

I've never used Omni in my writing. Too afraid that I will mess up things. But I like -- I love -- to read books written in this particular style. It gives a wider perspective to the tale, and more depth, than a limited 3rd. I believe that the beauty of story telling is the freedom to move, smoothly and artfully, from one character to another. To even let the reader inside the mind's of an animal, for instance!

What is your genre? My suggestion is to read books written in your particular genre, and in omni. If it is romance, read Nora Roberts -- she does a lot of so-called head-hopping. Or if it's sci-fi, try The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell, a wonderful book, and its sequel, Children of God. If you write literary, you might want to read The Transit of Venus, by Shirey Hazzard.

I'm certain that the experts from this forum will answer your question in more detail. And, if I remember, there's a thread, there are more threads, actually, dedicated to this topic -- it's past midnight here and I can't see straight, so I can't direct you to those threads.

I'm also interested in this topic so I'm looking forward to reading other posts.

Good luck,
Adagio

AlishaS said:

And would like to add I just don't think I can change it to third person limited or have enough knowledge in that specific style of writing to do so.

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So get some more edumacashun on it.

Limited POV writing is important to understand, and requires discipline; so does everything else in storytelling.

In a limited POV: If characterX is walking down the hallway, they won't know a cat is about to attack their heels until they feel those tiny fangs sink in. So don't mention the cat until characterX is aware of it. <<<just one of many crappy examples available on demand!

You can have 3rd limited with more than one POV character, so long as each POV is contained within its own scene. If you're struggling with omni (also a very tough POV for me), the easiest change might be into third limited. Don't let your level of understanding bar you from doing something; use it as a chance to broaden your skill.

Usually the challenge of writing in a limited POV is the constant itch of telleverythingitis. Break the habit. Try some short stories where you focus only on the thoughts and experiences of one character. Keep practicing until you are confident in your abilities and have been told it is done correctly, then practice some more.

Readers are smart and don't need to be told everything; they just need to be shown the important stuff. Challenge every scene by asking why it must be in the story and why it must be in that POV. If you do this, you'll be on your way to a tighter plot and the transitions will could come easier.

Adagio said:

I like -- I love -- to read books written in this particular style. It gives a wider perspective to the tale, and more depth, than a limited 3rd. I believe that the beauty of story telling is the freedom to move, smoothly and artfully, from one character to another.

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Every reader has preferences, and writers are also readers. Those preferences inevitably infuse their preferences in narrative technique. Me, for instance, I like to identify with a narrative viewpoint character, either as first-person participant in the story, or as third-person limited observer; I've used both as narrative POV techniques, and have no interest whatever in doing omni-third. Too distancing, too many temptations to get sloppy explainy. I believe that the beauty of story telling is the establishment of a single-observer POV (maybe two, at most), and having that narrator relate the story to me, as seen through that one camera lens.

And EyeSeeAll's post above is astute and pertinent, in every detail.

caw

I've found that a good technique to practice POV in 3rd limited is to color code the text.

Say you have Mary, Michael and Simon all in one scene. Assign each a color. Now go through the page line by line and use the assigned colors to hilite which character is holding the camera.

If Michael is filming the show and Mary has an internal thought after speaking, the camera is now in her hands and the color must be changed. Same with Simon FEELING the sudden urge to itch, or what not.

When you can attribute a section to no one in particular, give that another color.

It sounds silly really, but will provide a graphic interface to study POV shifts. If you have a rainbow going, and you're writing in limited, then you have a problem.

OK, is your book in omniscient or multiple limited POVs. There's a difference. Multiple POVs are written in a succession of limited POVs, and you only see and know whatever the viewpoint character for that scene knows. Omniscient, on the other hand, can introduce information that none of the characters know. "Little did they know that their day was about to get far, far worse."

Judg said:

An editor weighs in regarding POV.

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Excellent article, Judg!

I'm going to start using the term 'unlimited third'. Much easier to type than multiple third limited.

To give credit where credit is due, this turned up serendipitously in an email from CaroGirl today. A few minutes after I read this thread.

ETA: The editor in question is a Big Name with decades of experience.