70 Deadly Wattpad Sins (The Book Of Evil Advice!)

Sin #17: Limited Or Omniscient POV? (Get out of my head!)

  "So, I'm thinking of a number..." Adele says after her concert, grabbing my attention.

  I do not know Adele that well, but rumor has it that she likes one and only 'one'. She thinks of that number, in the privacy of her own head.

  "Is it one?" I ask, after hearing the voice in my mind.

  "How did you know?!" Adele gasps, wondering whether I am imbued with telepathic powers. "Can you read my mind?"

  "I... I don't—"

  'Hello? It's me', she thinks to herself silently, believing that she can test my omnipotence. Foolish mortal.

  Am I hearing voices again?

  That's normal for you... but yes, just so you know, the rest of us are seeing that nonsense too. 

  This is what happens when you mix your first-person limited POV with your omniscient one, but what do these terms mean? Why should you care, and how can that knowledge help you in the future?

  It can't. Use your bloody common sense for once.

  Ah, but these are Wattpad sins. Common sense has no place here, so let's focus on the negative like always and get stuck into the details!

  First things first, let's move the obvious out of the way: what does limited/omniscient mean? We know it has something to do with POVs, but what exactly?

  Limited POV: Your narrative storytelling can only cover what your MC personally experiences, their inner thoughts and consciousness.

  Omniscient POV: Instead of MC-only perception, your narrative is open to multiple (or all) viewpoints and thoughts, with no ties to a single character.

  This is not on the same level as having multiple POVs. You can still be omniscient and closely follow a single character, or you can be limited and have many characters giving their isolated accounts of the story. The idea is similar to using a wide camera lens, as opposed to a narrow one.

  Reading minds sounds cool as heck! Why would I ever choose to limit myself?

  Do I need to pull out the Mary Sue card again? I swear, I'll do it...

  Of course, most MCs cannot read everyone's minds — but the reader can, if you choose to let them. The best way to keep a secondary character's mystery alive (hidden motives, plot twist fodder), is to limit what you can rightfully reveal about them, waiting for the opportune time.

  If you choose to be omniscient, part of the draw is being able to get into two people's heads simultaneously, without the need for a POV switch. This can be useful in detailing both sides of an argument, or showing the reader who they can trust.

  Our problem starts when you slap your two axises together; limited/omniscient, along with first-person/third-person. Both are distinct from each other, and can have completely different effects when combined. Here's the breakdown:

  First-Person Limited: Reader lives through the eyes and mind of the MC.

  Third-Person Limited: Reader watches MC from a bird's-eye view, can slip into their mind only.

  Third-Person Omniscient: Reader watches all characters from a bird's-eye view, can slip into any of their minds.

  Wait, I think you missed a step. Where's First-Person Omniscient?

  It largely doesn't exist, to the disappointment of many crazy folk out there. The fact is, you can't start a story with 'I walked into Bob's store today,' and immediately shift into 'some ugly brat just walked into my store'. You'll constantly be questioning who the current narrator is, confusing everyone.

  Omniscience as a character is... well, kind of like omnipotence. Unless your MC actually is some kind of higher deity, I'm calling the fun police on this one. Get your wild imagination out of here, or Adele will bust your chops.

  Which of these perspectives is the best? I want to use the most popular one for my story!

  Okay, look... I know Wattpad is a huuuge fan of head-jumping, and everyone wants me to say 'go for it, omniscient 4 prez, screw ClinTrump!'

  Neither of these options is any better than the other, because they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. The degree to which you use them is what really matters here. 

  If you're constantly reading every passerby's mind in omniscient, it will just be uncondensed filler text and the plot will never move forward. On the other side, if you stick to a one-track-mind character in limited, they'll come off as bland and their story arcs will be short.

  Personally, I find a decent balance with third-person limited characters and the use of switching their POVs through new chapters when necessary. There are many levels and author tweaks you can do, but the important thing is to recognise, to actively know that you're doing them.

  So many people tend to slip up when they write in third-person, by having the reader trapped in the MC's mind for the entire story. Once or twice a chapter, they'll off-handedly mention that Sarah, the plucky side-character 'thought MC was totally cute'.

  Those are the keywords — thought, felt, knew, whatever. These are terms that a limited POV should not be able to pick up from any side-character, except for the actual MC. 

  So before you publish, it's best to Ctrl + F and find those instances, making sure they all line up with your protagonist. You know, instead of that dozy cow Sarah.

----

  This really didn't have to be a whole chapter, but it needed to be said somewhere. Too often, there are stories that seem to blur the lines between limited and omniscient, head-jumping across pages when they should be staying glued on.

  It's perfectly fine to smudge it up a little, if you've decided to. However, there's a thin line between making a mistake and a calculation. If you try to explain how a secondary character 'feels', it can be jarring to suddenly decapitate your reader's POV and place their head on a set of shoulders other than your MC's.

  Is this the part where you hint at what the next chapter will be?

  Oh, no. I'm not shooting myself in the foot again! You'll just have to take a flying guess this time.

  *Presses fingers to temples* Humhumhumhum~

  What... are you doing?

  Humhumhum, reading your mind, humhumhum~ 

  Go ahead, I have nothing to hide—

  Wow, there's a ton of nudie mags in here!

  Except for those. Stupid sins...