How to do omniscient right/make it work.

The Harry Potter Novels. I think Rowling does it about as well as it can be done.

It kinda depends on what type of omni you want to do--as I see it. Read up on the list I made a while back of what different narratives/POVs there are.
But, if you need to use it, I'm guessing you're using the traditional "Grandfather" omni.

The reason I see for using that type of omni is: Distance, ease of conveying a scene without a established character view point, an established voice that the reader an rely on (at the sacrifice of relying on character), and easy description and exposition (if handled with care).

I feel as if Patrick Rothfuss and Steven Erickson do omni well, for the reasons above. Of course, Tolkien as well. If you want non-SFF authors, I have just an idea of a couple people, but haven't read them to know.

I might use omni for distance--to describe a character from "outside" their skin, as I write rather close limited. That creates a stark dynamic from which I can represent a character from. Or to describe the scene, like the typical omni opening that has one paragraph to describe something before the narrative attaches to a character. I also like to do transitions from limited view point to limited view point if I don't want a scene break to interrupt the scene. Sometimes I also "break" limited to describe something that the character wouldn't be able to see. Otherwise, I stick to a limited perspective 99% of the time.

catielovescake said:

Do any of you have redeeming aspects of omniscient that work for you? Or any tips/tricks?

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The trick, if there is one, is to remember at all times that the only POV is that of the narrator. And the narrator must be a consummate storyteller.

What Beth said, though of course it's easier said than done.

Also, if you are going to use omniscient, make sure you signal readers by starting immediately with a clearly omniscient opening ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times;" "It is a truth universally acknowledged...") You can inhabit one character's head per scene thereafter, or you can choose to switch from one to another within the same scene. The former's easier, but the second gives you the ability to show more aspects of the scene. If you set this up in advance, too, readers will subconsciously adjust and not be startled by head-hopping when it happens again.

Tons of writers use omniscient very well, too many to list but here are a few: John Irving, Alice Hoffman, Maureen Howard, Pat Barker, Dickens and most 19th century writers. I also use it frequently--in SUSPICION and CAFE NEVO, for example, though I'm not quite a 19th-century writer. It's true 3rd person limited is fashionable these days, but that's irrelevant; you've got to choose the POV you need for each particular book.

Omniscient is a tricky beast. I find the main problem I have with omniscient done badly is in two areas:
1) the writer uses it to tell us everything, and then the tension is gone. Because they feel like the reader has to know everything.
2) the writer lacks focus entirely, and the whole thing ends up confusing.

Omniscient does require a lot of control from the writer. I think (IMO, YMMV, all the 'personal opinion' disclaimers) that omniscient writing works best when the writer isn't using it to fill readers on every little detail, but rather to fill readers in on all the important details, and when there is a definite thread to follow through the jumps in detail - don't spend three and a half paragraphs on one character, jump to a second character for one sentence (or worse, half a sentence), and then back again. Even two sentences here, two sentences there works better than that, provided the transitions are smooth.

Stephen King has made a very good living over the years by writing omniscient, as has the British fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. If I’m not mistaken, JK Rowling wrote in it too, but I’ll have to verify that, and I don’t have any of her books nearby.

The thing is, omniscient is a perfectly valid choice for POV if you keep in mind that it’s an invisible character that is telling the story. You are writing the omniscient from the limited 3rd of that invisible, all-knowing character.

Though they're both nominally YA, Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and China Mieville's Railsea have omniscient narrators that really play with the narrative. They are a lively, active presence without quite (in my opinion) crossing the line to, say, something like CS Lewis.

Vella said:

Omniscient is a tricky beast. I find the main problem I have with omniscient done badly is in two areas:
1) the writer uses it to tell us everything, and then the tension is gone. Because they feel like the reader has to know everything.
2) the writer lacks focus entirely, and the whole thing ends up confusing.

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This, exactly. And remember, what you see of omni in a published book is the stuff that does it best. What I've seen of "omni' in manuscripts to be critiqued rarely reaches that level, and mostly suffers from both of the flaws cited from Vella, above.

If you are having trouble making omni narrative work well, perhaps that's the wrong narrative pov for what you are writing. I think too many people are seduced by the apparent freedom it seems to offer the writer, and don't understand its inherent limitations. Omni pov needs to be controlled in writing as fully as do any other pov choices.

caw

I think omni works best when the narrator's voice is quite distinctive, and often when there's a sort of humorous, almost ironic removal from the characters. It works well with books that have a social commentary aspect, like Dickens or Austen, because through the narration we're reminded that this ISN'T just one set of characters going through something, it's everybody.

I'm trying to remember how Stephen King uses it. He's usually got a pretty humorous voice too, I think. So does JK Rowling. And in their cases they're able to use their narration to explain things that would seem odd if they were explained in close third or first person.

catielovescake said:

What are some of your favorite books in omniscient POV? Are there any modern/great examples of using this?

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Rosemary Sutcliff, in particular The Eagle of the Ninth. It's so personal that it feels like close third, but it's really in omni.

catielovescake said:

What are some of your favorite books in omniscient POV? Are there any modern/great examples of using this?

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Gone With the Wind

As has already been mentioned, The Eagle of the Ninth

Harry Potter was written in omniscient.

Phillip Pullman uses omniscient fairly well but he's sometimes careless about making swift forays into a character's head and back out again.

Patrick Rothfuss writes part of his books in objective omniscient, where the narrator acts like a camera recording events, but never goes into the thoughts of any characters.