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Head Hopping vs. Omniscient Narrator

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DonnaDuck

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And the difference is . . . ?

I always figured the point of an omniscient narrator was that they knew everything hence they could "see" into the heads of multiple characters (thus omniscient) but when I tend to write what I think is omniscient it's deemed head hopping by betas. So what's the difference between the two? Is it the "norm" to write a third person limited as opposed to an omniscient and when people see "head hopping" they're just assuming that the author meant to write in limited and couldn't keep the writing tight? I'm having difficulty grasping the difference between the two since, from what I understand of an omniscient narrator (essentially an all-knowing narrator) is that they head hop. Otherwise they wouldn't be omniscient.
 
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Stew21

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you can do multiple POV's in a book without headhopping. It is considered headhopping if you are in more than one head per scene.

Here's an example of where I did it in my first novel (really very sad little thing). It's in the woman's POV, and I inadvertently jumped into the man's - it's been edited out now:

She sucked in hard and her chest heaved with it, “Yes I’m going. There is no reason for me to stay here this weekend!” She protested, but inside she was trembling. She reminded herself, steady.
“I have things for you to do too! If I have to work this weekend, so do you!” He yelled this time.
“I’ve been planning this for weeks and I’m going.” She had stopped walking down the stairs now, afraid of walking into the wall of his chest and being flung back against the wooden stairs.
He could hear the fear in her voice as she spoke and it empowered him. He loved the sound of fear. “You’re pathetic, you know it?” He laughed. “You still” he took a step, “haven’t” step, “learned” step, “to follow the rules” he said directly into her face and at her level now just one step below her.

Omnicient can use the POV and inner thoughts of any character, and move between them with chapter breaks. But more importantly, omnicient narrators can know about scenes and interactions where no one else was present besides the interacters and doesn't have to pick a POV character to tell it.
 
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underthecity

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Head-hopping is changing character viewpoints within a scene, maybe even after every couple of sentences or paragraph by paragraph.

Third-person omnicient would require each scene to be devoted to one character. When the scene changes, the character changes. Or, within a scene, perhaps by using the * * * break.

Skilled writers writing in third/omnicient can change viewpoints within a scene by using a device such as description, or other action. For instance, early in Stephen King's The Shining, the viewpoint changes from Wendy to Danny within the same scene with description between them. It occurs more than once. It flows very well and the casual reader doesn't notice. I noticed it during a re-read because I was looking for things like that.

allen
 

rossmart34

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I've been having the same issues. I have been trying to write in third person limited but, I want to use a narrator to explain back story and other details. Only problem is, I feel like I am putting space between the reader and the story. I just feel that in a fantasy story a reliable/unreliable narrator can convey back story and detail better than just laying it out for the reader plainly; I think it can carry more emotion coming from a narrator. It's pretty damn confusing though.
 

DonnaDuck

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Ah, I see it now. But even so, the line between head-hopping and subtle transition within a scene itself seems pretty thin. I'm assuming that few are capable of doing something like this without it being jarring, I take it? But I get the difference now. Thanks everyone!
 

DeleyanLee

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POV is where the camera sits at any point in time.

If the camera is sitting behind a character's eyes, it's 1st person.

If the camera is sitting behind the reader's eyes, it's 2nd person.

If the camera is sitting outside any character or reader, it's 3rd person.

If the camera is sitting on a single character's shoulder for a limited length of time (a scene, chapter, book), it's limited 3rd person.

If the camera sits on one character's shoulder and then hovers off and lands on another's shoulder, and the changes again, it's shifting 3rd person.

If the camera sits like God On High and can extend its view, however momentarily, into any and anything's eyes, it's omniscent 3rd person.

To my experience "head-hopping" is a derogatory term used by POV purists who preach that the ONLY valid form of POV is 1st or limited 3rd when, in fact, it is merely very badly done POV regardless of which person it was supposed to be.
 

rossmart34

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I like that camera analogy. I used it to explain the difference between story and plot to a friend of mine. Plot is anything that can be seen happening through the camera lens. Story is anything happening inside of the characters on camera or compelling them to act out in front of the camera.
 

JanDarby

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Omniscient usually has a consistent, identifiable narrator (might be the author, might be a character) outside any of the other characters, even when the narrator is telling/showing what's inside a character's head.

If you read a lot of well-done omniscient, you'll find that there really is a distinct narrator and, even if the narrator is going deep inside a character's head, there's a teeny-weeny reminder somewhere that the narrator is telling the story, that you're not simply along for the ride inside the character's head, but are being navigated where the narrator wants you to be.

Check out Terry Pratchett for omniscient done brilliantly.

JD
 

Stew21

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Omniscient usually has a consistent, identifiable narrator (might be the author, might be a character) outside any of the other characters, even when the narrator is telling/showing what's inside a character's head.

If you read a lot of well-done omniscient, you'll find that there really is a distinct narrator and, even if the narrator is going deep inside a character's head, there's a teeny-weeny reminder somewhere that the narrator is telling the story, that you're not simply along for the ride inside the character's head, but are being navigated where the narrator wants you to be.

Check out Terry Pratchett for omniscient done brilliantly.

JD

excellent point.
The Castle in the Forest does this too. The character that explains the feelings, motives, etc of the other characters is omnicient, but he always stays in his own voice.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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Check out Terry Pratchett for omniscient done brilliantly.

Yes.

I am learning a lot from Pratchett on how to move gracefully between different characters' viewpoints without making it feel jumpy.
 

rossmart34

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Omniscient usually has a consistent, identifiable narrator (might be the author, might be a character) outside any of the other characters, even when the narrator is telling/showing what's inside a character's head.

If you read a lot of well-done omniscient, you'll find that there really is a distinct narrator and, even if the narrator is going deep inside a character's head, there's a teeny-weeny reminder somewhere that the narrator is telling the story, that you're not simply along for the ride inside the character's head, but are being navigated where the narrator wants you to be.

Check out Terry Pratchett for omniscient done brilliantly.

JD

It is often said that Antonio Corrent, Crown Prince of the Alturran Empire, was sent out upon a path set him by destiny. That being the only son of Diego "the Conqueror" and his Impressa, Soriana Maria Corrent, left him no avenue other than that leading to greatness and immortality brought about by the annals of history and the telling of legends....


Does this sound viable? It's the reliable narrator I've had in mind for my novel but this is all new to me and kind of confusing...
 

JanDarby

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I am learning a lot from Pratchett on how to move gracefully between different characters' viewpoints without making it feel jumpy.

What I find particularly interesting in Pratchett books, with respect to POV, is when he's pretty deep inside a main character's head (usually Vimes, but also Moist and William deWorde), but if you look closely (yes, I've read most of his books multiple times, and I'm always finding something new to study), there'll be something -- sometimes minor, sometimes major -- that establishes that the character's experience is being filtered through the narrator/author. There's just that teensy-weensy bit of distance that enables the reader to go with the flow, regardless of where that flow takes us.

JD
 

Windsong

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Thanks for the examples. I've been having a hard time trying to distinguish between these as well.
 

Danger Jane

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Head-hopping is changing character viewpoints within a scene, maybe even after every couple of sentences or paragraph by paragraph.

Third-person omnicient would require each scene to be devoted to one character. When the scene changes, the character changes. Or, within a scene, perhaps by using the * * * break.

Skilled writers writing in third/omnicient can change viewpoints within a scene by using a device such as description, or other action. For instance, early in Stephen King's The Shining, the viewpoint changes from Wendy to Danny within the same scene with description between them. It occurs more than once. It flows very well and the casual reader doesn't notice. I noticed it during a re-read because I was looking for things like that.

allen

Omniscient doesn't require that the POV only shifts between scenes. It's simply harder to shift well in the middle of a scene. I really appreciate reading smooth POV shifts.
 

maestrowork

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Omniscient: the POV is that of the narrator, an all-knowing "being" who happens to know what the characters are thinking or what is happening when and where. But the POV is that of the narrator -- there's a distinct, distant, sitting-on-a-cloud type narrator. Even with an all-knowing (omniscient) narrator, the narrator doesn't randomly jump from one character to another -- there's usually a focus at the time.

Head-hopping: it's usually an ill-controlled POV by the author to try to follow multiple characters at the same time, but without any cohesion or a unique omniscient narrator. The POVs are of the characters', but the POV jumps from one character to another without control, usually within the same scene or even paragraph. It's usually a symptom in 3rd limited POV. For example, as the story is told for character A's POV, suddenly the readers are privy to character B's thoughts or feelings or observations (outside of character A's POV). It's jarring and uncontrolled.


Omniscient:

There were six people on the island, and they were all thinking one thing: how to kill the others to survive. Little did they know, however, that a giant lizard was coming their way from the far end of the island.


Head-hopping:

Stuck on the island, Joe thought of his survival, and how he would kill the others. He looked over to Mary and wondered what she was thinking. Mary looked back at Joe and thought: I should kill Joe so I can survive. Joe knew that look on Mary's face. He realized she was thinking the same thing.


At first glance, it doesn't look like the two examples above are different (well, they're short paragraphs), but on the whole, the readers will sense the POVs. In the first one, they would sense that there's a narrator sitting somewhere telling a story. In the second one, they realized that the POVs are constantly shifting and following different people.
 
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DonnaDuck

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Those are great examples. I see the difference now. I guess it's something that never really bothered me in the past or just something I never noticed about other writing. Or I've just read writing good enough to omit such things. I'd like to think the latter! But now that I'm aware of it, I'm sure I'll notice the difference not only in my own work but others as well.
 

Bufty

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Hmmmm.

I have always been a great fan of the books where the main character tells the story while happening .
Like the voice in this head he asses and predicts all this is going on in his head .
 

maestrowork

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otterman

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I think it comes down to the smoothness of the transition. If it's clunky, awkward and affects flow, it's head-hopping. If it is done well and works for the reader, it's perfectly fine. I think the suddenness of the change (as stated) is an important factor. I've been guilty of making the transition too quickly/often and luckily a beta reader has pointed this out to me.
 

ColinMacDougall

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head hopping woes

*NEWBY ALERT*

Hi, everybody, honored and delighted and all that and I'd dearly love to hear your thoughts on this.
In my fantasy novel I change POV's fairly frequently in third-person limited. For example, in one chapter the bad guys are storming the castle and a bunch of good guys attack the attackers in an attempt to break in to reinforce the defenders. One brother leads the defenders and one the relieving force and I tell the story of the battle from both points of view, changing 'focus' as needed to tell the story more efficiently.
One long chapter uses the POV of (God help me) eight different characters. HOWEVER - I use scene breaks (an extra space) and I always have a narrative reason behind the change, for example at the end of the another chapter (about a coup) all the main characters are in different places and I move from one to the other in quick three or four sentence paragraphs, each slightly shorter until the last - two short sentences. I only do that once in the book, mind, but I like using at least two or three of these scene changes among the major characters in any scene of any length. Obviously there's no room here to demonstrate, but assuming I do a good job of keeping their voices distinct would you say....
A) If you can pull it off, more power to you.
and/or
B) Don't even think about it, Kiddo. lessen' yer name ez Jordan er Shakeyspeare er sem sech.
and/or
C) It can't work.
Having read through a good many threads here, I'm sure your opinons would be a great help, and thank you for your time.
 
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