It can be challenging to tell readers everything they need to know through a character’s point of view, so why not ditch that confinement and use a narrator who knows everything? That’s called omniscient narration, and it’s what we’re talking about today. Joined by returning guest Ariel, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of omniscient, comment on works using this narrative style, and describe our omniscience pet peeves. We also talk about Discworld, obviously.
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Opening and closing theme: The Princess Who Saved Herself by Jonathan Coulton. Used with permission.
Show Notes:
A Series of Unfortunate Events
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Thank you so much for this! It’s really useful for me.
I like this website so much, and I always look forward to new articles and podcasts.
Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year!
PS I got more Discworld books for Christmas, so I’m counting that as ‘omniscient narrative research’.
That’s the spirit! If anyone bothers you about reading them, tell them that your very official writing teachers at Mythcreants U assigned it.
I decided to watch the Series of Unfortunate Events tv series, and I really hope it’s released on DVD/Blue-Ray because I like it very much. One thing I noticed is that it’s a lot more tightly plotted than the books, and the kind of meandering nature of the books irritated me when I read them. We still won’t get all the answers, or any, for that matter, but it’s something.
Needless to say, I’m super excited for season 3.