Tips for Writing in Third-Person Omniscient Point of View

As writers, we often have our preferred points of view when we write. But sometimes a story can call for something different. Or maybe you’re just experimenting with new methods outside of your comfort zone. Switching to writing from a new POV can be a bit jarring. That’s why I decided to write this post compiling some tips and ideas on how to write in third-person omniscient POV.

Writing in third-person omniscient involves narrating the story from an all-knowing perspective, where the narrator has insight into the thoughts, feelings, and actions of multiple characters.

The narrator is not a character in the story but rather an unseen observer who knows everything about the characters and events. Because of this, they can delve into the minds of multiple characters, revealing their inner thoughts, emotions, and motivations.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing from a third-person omniscient POV:

Objectivity

It’s important to remember that while the narrator has access to the characters’ thoughts and feelings, they should maintain a sense of objectivity and impartiality. They can offer insights into different characters’ perspectives without favoring one over the other.

An omniscient voice isn’t a character with its own perspective (not usually, anyway – the narrator in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is Death personified and remains omniscient throughout the narrative). It’s mostly just a voice that sees all and knows all but has no preference for the characters or their decisions and ideas. An omniscient narrator stays out of it and simply reports what they see.

Smooth transitions

Smooth transitions between different character perspectives are essential to maintain clarity and coherence in the narrative. It’s important for writers to clearly indicate shifts in perspective to avoid confusion.

To keep the narrative voice consistent throughout the story, writers should avoid jarring transitions that may confuse or alienate readers.

Breaks are always welcome. I’m wary of saying that you can’t go wrong with breaks or there can never be too many breaks. But when in doubt, it’s always better to insert a break when/if a transition has become muddled. This can always be fixed later in editing.

Avoid head-hopping

Head-hopping occurs when the perspective shifts abruptly within a scene without proper transitions. This can confuse readers and disrupt the flow of the story. Writers should take care to stick to one character’s perspective per scene or section. It’s advisable to insert a break and start a new section when switching character perspectives.

Balanced focus

Every character deserves their fair share of attention and development. Writers should avoid focusing too much on one character at the expense of others unless it serves the narrative purpose.

Third-person omniscient can be most useful when it’s necessary to portray the perspectives of various characters. However, it is possible to focus on just one character. The writer will have to judge for themselves what the story requires most. An editor can help give the writer perspective here if the writer still has doubts as to how many perspectives to show when the time for editing comes.

Show, don’t tell

Writers can use vivid descriptions, actions, and dialogue to show the characters’ personalities, emotions, and motivations rather than simply telling the reader about them.

Since the omniscient narrator has access to all aspects of the story, descriptive language can help paint a vivid picture of the characters, settings, and events. Understanding psychic distance can also help writers understand how showing and telling differ when writing a story from third-person omniscient as opposed to third-person deep POV or first-person POV.

At The Intuitive Desk, I help you ensure that there’s consistency in your chosen POV as well as zero in on other narrative issues. If writing in third-person POV is something that you have some doubts about, reach out and let’s discuss how I can best assist you in ensuring that your narrative voice stays consistent and clear!