Main Points (thanks to Tanya B!)
- The basic viewpoints are “first person”, “third person limited” and “third person omniscient.”
- Past and present tenses are pretty interchangeable. The only time the reader will notice is if you switch between them or if the reader is used to one and starts a book in the other. The default in most genres is past tense.
- Omniscient changes viewpoint within a scene, usually paragraph by paragraph. Unless you have a good reason, default away from third person omniscient.
- Body hopper omniscient shows everybody’s thoughts and feelings. It builds a reader expectation that they will see from everyone’s perspective so it is difficult to hide information from the reader without breaking the illusion of the story. It gets very complicated very quickly.
- Hidden narrator omniscient feels like someone is sitting down and telling you a story. It takes a few steps back from the characters, showing fewer thoughts and feelings. This creates distance from the reader so it can be harder to engage the reader in the beginning.
Book examples:
- Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon – Switching between past and present effectively
- Dune by Frank Herbert – Body Hopper Omniscient
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – Hidden Narrator Omniscient
Next up: First Person Viewpoints
Alright, I went and got some gummy bears to eat while watching this. Bonus: they haven’t been squashed and kneaded by Brandon Sanderson.
Mmmm, gummy bears… I remember salivating more in Brandon’s class than I have in any class for a long time – probably not so much since a 6th grade substitute teacher who would give us candy out of this magic apron she wore whenever we participated.
No joke, I am developing a ridiculous craving for gummy bears every time I watch one of these lectures… I’m pretty sure it’s going to end up being my it’s-finals-week pity food.
* The basic viewpoints are “first person”, “third person limited” and “third person omniscient.”
* Past and present tenses are pretty interchangeable. The only time the reader will notice is if you switch between them or if the reader is used to one and starts a book in the other. The default in most genres is past tense.
* Omniscient changes viewpoint within a scene, usually paragraph by paragraph. Unless you have a good reason, default away from third person omniscient.
* Body hopper omniscient shows everybody’s thoughts and feelings. It builds a reader expectation that they will see from everyone’s perspective so it is difficult to hide information from the reader without breaking the illusion of the story. It gets very complicated very quickly.
* Hidden narrator omniscient feels like someone is sitting down and telling you a story. It takes a few steps back from the characters, showing fewer thoughts and feelings. This creates distance from the reader so it can be harder to engage the reader in the beginning.
Book examples:
Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon – Switching between past and present effectively
Dune by Frank Herbert – Body Hopper Omniscient
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – Hidden Narrator Omniscient
Thank you Tanya! I’ll post these
I’m loving these videos. I think I’ve just been inspired to write a 2nd person, future-tense story.