But does anybody *like* omniscient POV?... (Does it confuse the reader, or is that only when being done clumsily?) M

But does anybody *like* omniscient POV?... (Does it confuse the reader, or is that only when being done clumsily?) In some books

But does anybody *like* omniscient POV?... (Does it confuse the reader, or is that only when being done clumsily?) Done well, I like it. Swordspoint goes from POV to POV within a single scene. The Lymond Chronicles are the same. All very well done, very smooth and natural. And as Kristin pointed out, very efficient. But if badly done, it jars the reader worse than others elements, I think, because it's the reader viewport into the story. Beth

But does anybody *like* omniscient POV?... (Does it confuse the reader, or is that only when being done clumsily?) Done well, I like it. Swordspoint goes from POV to POV within a single scene. The Lymond Chronicles are the same. All very well done, very smooth and natural. And as Kristin pointed out, very efficient. But if badly done, it jars the reader worse than others elements, I think, because it's the reader viewport into the story. IIRC, most Jane Austen is omniscient POV, and it rolls nicely.  It's easy to write a stilted, long distance omniscient, though, so I guess one has to be careful in choosing one's details and such. Though I generally don't think much about POV, so I can't comment much. Indeed, perhaps it's something I should think more about in my own writing...hmmm.... Light, I LOVE this newsgroup! The Professor

badly done, it jars the reader worse than others elements, I think, because it's the reader viewport into the story. Omniscient POV does not go from POV to POV. It is the POV. The omnisicient narrator simply pries open the head of any character he wants to. But there is a detachment from the head the narrator is inside of. In other words, the narrator always knows what the other characters have in their head to and it guides the writing. It's when someone does a close 3rd where they know only what the character knows and then jumps to another close 3rd that the problem can arise.             mike

But does anybody *like* omniscient POV?... (Does it confuse the reader, or is that only when being done clumsily?) M Well, Salman Rushdie sells pretty well, last I heard. Lucy Kemnitzer