POV Trends

[pmmg]

So, in response to something I wrote, the editor woman replied with this.

The industry very much follows trends and a deep POV has been the trend for many years. I challenge you to find a book that’s recently been written in omniscient POV that has sold well. Some big name authors can get away with this a little more than others, but it’s still definitely not the standard.

Does this seem true? Do you write in a Deep POV?

 

[L.L. Maurizi]

I do hope this editor is wrong.
I write in both PoVs but most recently I've used omniscient + multiple characters PoVs in the same book (it's an ensemble).
Though, tbf, I do believe most books take the scene-character perspective to narrate

 

[Ban]

Does this seem true? Do you write in a Deep POV?

Seem? No. Is? Probably. As for myself, I am a stickler for omniscient, so I'll just treat this as an excuse for why I won't be the next G.R.R. Martin. Couldn't help it, POV's fault

 

[Penpilot]

Does this seem true? Do you write in a Deep POV?

I'm not really in the know, but that the general sentiment I can't recall a specific source, but I do know I've heard it from multiple. Omniscient tends to be harder to pull off without confusing the reader, but at the end of the day, if it's good enough, it's good enough, regardless of what POV you choose to use.

I write either in first or deep third.

 

[Finchbearer]

Yes I do. I enjoy reading stories that are like this too, because I want to know how the characters feel. I’ve written one story in the first person present tense, although that has been quite a challenge. I zoom out and write passively too, but then zoom in on the next deep POV. That seems to be how I write so far.

Have I enjoyed stories that don’t have this aspect? Yes.

 

[Mad Swede]

Yes, my editor has said the same thing. One of the reasons she gives for writing in a deep POV is that it allows the reader to get closer to our characters, so that the story is less distant. My editor also says that you can have multiple deep POVs in a story. But, she aslo says that you should occasionally drop back out of the deep POV and go into something a little more omniscient so as to give the reader time to come up for air. And yes, I do write in deep POV, with a dash of omniscient view.

 

[Rexenm]

Following the trend of fiction is like following your own heart. It seems to be a common mistake that people only read books that sell. So by the same logic why should you write a book that sells? In that case it wouldn’t matter what it meant to the editor but what it meant to you. This is like the old adage of supply and demand. They are always going to be looking for the next buck watching these trends, but not the common man.

 

[Gospodin]

Rotating/Serial Deep 3rd limited, passing the baton only at the chapter boundary has been my go-to for a while now.

 

[Ban]

Seem? No. Is? Probably. As for myself, I am a stickler for omniscient, so I'll just treat this as an excuse for why I won't be the next G.R.R. Martin. Couldn't help it, POV's fault

Having been reminded of the existence of 3rd person, perhaps I don't exclusively write in omniscient after all. There's still a shot of becoming the next G.R.R. Martin! Less war and debauchery though, but just as much food.

 

[Finchbearer]

War and debauchery are a hungry business I suppose!

 

[Ban]

War and debauchery are a hungry business I suppose!

Perhaps so, but my appetite needs neither

 

[pmmg]

War and debauchery are a hungry business I suppose!

I could use a little....but not so much the war part.

 

[Ned Marcus]

Actually, I'd never heard of deep POV. I mostly write in first person or third person limited. It looks like third person deep POV developed out of third person limited. After reading a few articles on deep POV, I've found that I sometimes use it without knowing it. To be honest, it just looks like an alternate style of third person limited. So far, I've not used third person omniscient. I don't see why you couldn't use it—apart from it being a harder sell, which could be a good reason.

 

[pmmg]

My story is third person limited. But, it changes POV character at times between scenes. I am not sure if she was calling me omniscient as much as saying she would like my POV to be deeper. I can see what she is saying, in that she think the perspective is pulled off of them a little. I will be looking if that can or should be addressed in the next pass through.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I've always called it 3rd Intimate. It's really just 3rd Limited with certain stylistic choices such as not using "distancers". Setting the scene in the first paragraph of a chapter can be a way to pull back the camera lens, and then move in for tight focus. It can be a fine dance, the difference between a few words in a paragraph.

Someday I will write a novel in 3rd Om, if I ever get around to my vampire comedy, that one is a no-brainer. In epic, I've yet to find the right story to fit the voice styling I imagine.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

My story is third person limited. But, it changes POV character at times between scenes. I am not sure if she was calling me omniscient as much as saying she would like my POV to be deeper. I can see what she is saying, in that she think the perspective is pulled off of them a little. I will be looking if that can or should be addressed in the next pass through.

We also write 3rd person limited and it really does make a difference, in our opinion. We treat the characters rather like the "camera" we use to show the story to the reader, so perspective really becomes everything. We also make flagrant use of unreliable narrators, which are both fun and a great way to conceal information from the reader, even if it's information the character has.

 

[ThinkerX]

I read a great deal - usually on the order of three or more books a week (though lately my attention has been absorbed by the gargantuan 'Wandering Inn.') I see little in the way of omniscient writing, save maybe for introductions and exposition sections. The stories are almost always told as the characters experience them.

I do this in my writing - in my 'Empire' series, I hold to a 'one chapter, one POV' format. 'Labyrinth: Journal' is just that - a journal, bracketed by the POV's of another character. 'Labyrinth: Seed' also follows the 'one chapter. one POV model.' (For that matter, even 'Falling Towers,' written literally two-decades plus ago, is told through different POV's.) Shorter works are told either through a single POV or alternate between two or rarely three POV characters.

 

[Finchbearer]

I could use a little....but not so much the war part.

Only just seen this

 

[The Dark One]

I mostly use 1st person with a bit of third where the narrator is not in the scene. This is most useful for letting the reader know something the narrator doesn't, which can be lots of fun or ratchet up the tension.

I've used a couple of different narrative styles though and don't give a rat's about what the trends may be. Trends tend to change, after all.

 

[Rexenm]

Have you heard of second person? I was entertained with choose your own adventures, from the perspective of you. I think you call it, second person. It is uncomfortable to read in first person, maybe, second person?