The Omniscient POV

[Jenna Terese]

alrighty, y’all. here’s the dealio: I had this book idea that I wanted to be in omniscient POV. but the thing is, whenever I read a story with that POV, I hate it.

So, is there a way to do this POV where the reader won’t feel distant and will still love the characters?

@seekjustice @rochellaine @daughteroftheking @catwing @dekreel @dragon-snapper @alia @ariel-ashira @everyone

I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com

[SeekJustice]

@jenwriter17

Um…

…

I don’t think I’v ever written a story using Omniscient PoV.

I don’t think I ever want to.

But the classics often use it, say Dickens. Maybe try studying the way he writes? That’s all I can really offer, I only do first person or limited third person, so its not really a topic in my field of experience.

INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.

[Jenna Terese]

@seekjustice Dickens you say? Alrighty, I’ll take a look at more of his writing, thank you 🙂

I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com

[NC Stokes]

@jenwriter17 Errrr… *thinking face* I actually don’t know a thing about writing omnipresent POV. I guess it’s just extra important to have compelling characters that the readers will feel close to. *cricket chirps* Yeah sorry I’m not much help… 😛

Blog: https://weridasusual.home.blog/

[Sink]

@jenwriter

Oh! I write in omnipresent POV all the time. It’s really fun because I can see all the character’s thoughts and actions, and not just the MC’s.

First thing I would do is decide–why do you want to write it in Omni POV? What genre of book is it? Some genres work better with Omni POV than others. Like mystery, for example. Most mystery novels are written in Omni POV because it allows you, as I mentioned above, to see all the character’s thoughts and actions, not just one. You can simultaneously show a character thinking about what he ate for dinner and another character watching him, evaluating him as the suspect.

Also, use italics. Italics are gift from God when writing in the Omni POV. For example, a scene from my current serial story that’s with alpha readers at the moment. (Yes, I totally added that in there because I wanted to gloat about finally sending something to alpha readers.)

<p align=”LEFT”>Kija lifted his chin, haughtily tossing his pale hair out of his eyes. “Let us go then, gentleman.”</p>
<p align=”LEFT”>The more volatile of the duo growled while the other simply bristled, and grabbed his arm, yanking Kija forward. The prince bit back a yelp when the guard jerked his arm painfully, stopping his abrupt decent. An steel-toed boot met the back of his legs, and Kija dropped to his knees.</p>
<p align=”LEFT”><i>Stay down. </i></p>
<p align=”LEFT”>The guard who was still standing off to the side lowered his spear to Kija’s throat as the first man clapped shackles about his wrists, letting the razor-edge brush his jugular. Kija flinched instinctively, and snapped his jaw shut as a cry threatened to escape when the rough guard grabbed his hair and yanked his head back.</p>
<p align=”LEFT”>“Let’s see those famous eyes of yours, shall we? Something exotic like that might fetch a decent price on the Trade.”</p>
<p align=”LEFT”>Kija paled, and screwed his eyes shut. “Let me go!” He thrashed against the bonds.</p>
<p align=”LEFT”><i>This wasn’t supposed to happen! Banishment I can manage, whipping I can manage, but I am not having my life sold off to the highest bidder! I am a prince!</i></p>

<p align=”LEFT”>There you have it. A lovely scene where my favorite ex-cursed prince with anxiety issues tries to be cool and fails miserably.</p>
<p align=”LEFT”>One thing with Omni POV–you really need to know your characters to make them sound up close and personal. You need to know what makes them tick. What makes them happy? What embarrasses them? What do they hate? Do they chew their fingernails? Do they love to sing? Can they dance? What’s their favorite color? What’s their last name? Is there a story behind them? Who are they?</p>
<p align=”LEFT”>Using all of these components, you should be able to gain a better view on Omni POV. Good luck!</p>

*vader vibes*

[Sink]

@jenwriter17

*face palm*

KP hates my formatting. Hang on a sec.

____________

Kija lifted his chin, haughtily tossing his pale hair out of his eyes. “Let us go then, gentleman.”
The more volatile of the duo growled while the other simply bristled, and grabbed his arm, yanking Kija forward. The prince bit back a yelp when the guard jerked his arm painfully, stopping his abrupt decent. An steel-toed boot met the back of his legs, and Kija dropped to his knees.
  Stay down.
The guard who was still standing off to the side lowered his spear to Kija’s throat as the first man clapped shackles about his wrists, letting the razor-edge brush his jugular. Kija flinched instinctively, and snapped his jaw shut as a cry threatened to escape when the rough guard grabbed his hair and yanked his head back.
“Let’s see those famous eyes of yours, shall we? Something exotic like that might fetch a decent price on the Trade.”
Kija paled, and screwed his eyes shut. “Let me go!” He thrashed against the bonds.
This wasn’t supposed to happen! Banishment I can manage, whipping I can manage, but I am not having my life sold off to the highest bidder! I am a prince!

____________

There. That should work.

 

*vader vibes*

[Jenna Terese]

@sarah-anson The reason I wanted to use this POV was because I wanted to follow a group of people instead of just one protagonist. (the genre is sci-fi/dystopian. and yes, I like that genre 😛 )

Love that snippet! 😀

I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com

[Author]

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