If you’re a writer, you’ve probably given third-person narrative a try. It’s the most common point of view in modern fiction, so why wouldn’t you? With a detached narrative style, third person offers storytelling tools authors can leverage to their advantage. However, there’s more to third person than telling the story from the “outside.” You need to answer one question first: are you writing third-person limited or third-person omniscient?
Finding the answer may be trickier than you think. (And frustrating to fix if you get off track.)
What Is Third-Person Narrative?
Let’s start with the basics.
Third person refers to a story told by a narrator that is not part of the plot. (There are some exceptions. See the “Character Narrator” section in our article about choosing your narrator.) Characters are referred to by name or with third-person pronouns like he, she, they, and them.
In third-person limited, the author tells the story through the thoughts and experiences of a character, which means the author can only use information the character already has. In other words, the readers can only know and see what the character knows and sees.
Limited perspective can also be expanded to allow multiple character perspectives in a single narrative. When using multiple character perspectives, an author will split perspectives between chapters or chapter segments with clear distinction. (Game of Thrones is a wildly successful example of this approach). An author using multiple limited perspectives, however, must be mindful of what each perspective character knows. Character knowledge should not bleed from one character to the next. Character A knows what Character A knows, and Character B has her own perspective.
Although limited perspective means looking through the eyes of a perspective character, an omniscient narrative style takes a step back. Third-person omniscient refers to a story being told from a bird’s-eye view where the narrator can see and know everything. While there are no limits to what can be shown in third-person omniscient, the story is always told through a singular unified voice: that of the detached narrator.
Which Is Better: Limited or Omniscient?
Although both limited and omniscient narrative styles share similar core mechanics, each comes with its own unique benefits.
A limited perspective allows the narrator to deeply explore the inner workings, thoughts, opinions, and prejudices of the perspective character. It also gives the author more control over what information give to their reader. Since a limited perspective can only use information that the perspective character has, it can be easier to create a sense of tension, anticipation, or mystery.
On the opposite end, an omniscient narrative can help add a sense of world scale and history that make it easier to introduce a wide cast of characters.
Head-Hopping
Regardless of their individual strengths in storytelling, authors who write in limited or omniscient perspectives face a common enemy in their wordplay: head-hopping. Head-hopping is when an author abruptly changes the viewpoint of the perspective narrator without properly separating the first and second viewpoints with a chapter or section break.
For instance, a scene told in third-person limited shouldn’t suddenly include the thoughts and feelings of anyone but the perspective character. They know the thoughts and feelings of anyone but themselves! This can get trickier when using multiple character perspectives in third-person limited, but the rule remains the same. An author can only access the mind and heart of the scene’s perspective character. If you want to access another character’s thoughts, you have to do so in a new scene where they (and only they) are the perspective character.
Sometimes authors will choose omniscient under the assumption it’s impossible to head-hop if the narrator knows everything. This isn’t true! While an omniscient approach does give the author access to all hearts and minds in a story, they are still restrained by the distant nature of the narrative style. In third-person omniscient, head-hopping occurs when the narrator stops telling the story from their detached perspective and starts conveying events through the eyes and emotions of an individual character. In other words, it can be easy to slide from omniscient into limited perspective if you aren’t careful! The biggest giveaway is if you find yourself writing an inner monologue. If character thoughts begin appearing on the page, it’s a surefire sign you’ve slipped from omniscient into limited narration.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re writing intergalactic sci-fi, small-town romance, or something between, choosing limited or omniscient is more than a stylistic choice. It will help shape the way your reader engages with the story. Choose wisely—and mind those hopping heads!
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