Third Person: Objective vs. Subjective


So, apparently, there are two main categories to the third person point of view: objective and subjective. Today we'll be going over what each one means and the difference between the two.
Objective POV
Objective POV is when the narrator cannot tell what the characters are thinking. Emotions, thoughts, and opinions are conveyed through dialogue or body language.
  This perspective is sometimes called the "fly-on-the-wall" or "camera lens" point of view. There can be a non-human narrator to make the story less biased, and only observes the visible actions of each character.
 To summarize: the objective point of view consists of external action and dialogue— the reader cannot see inside the characters' heads.
  Pros: 
  • puts story at the forefront; allows the story to be more action/plot driven
  •  makes unnecessary exposition less likely
  • flexible
  Cons: 
  • creates distance between characters and reader
  • all information must be conveyed through dialogue/body language
Subjective POV
The third-person subjective point of view includes the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of each character.  The third person, subjective POV became the most popular narrative viewpoint in the twentieth century. As opposed to the all-knowing and all-seeing third person omniscient point of view, the narrator, and, by extension, the readers, only receive information that the characters already have.
 The subjective viewpoint allows the reader to see what the characters are thinking but does not give them knowledge beyond that of the characters.
Pros:
  • smooth transitions
  • closer relationship between characters and reader
  • less cold-feeling
Cons:
  • less intimacy than first person
  • can get info-dumpy
  • might reveal too much

  That's all I have for you today. This is the first in a miniseries on writing in the third person, so look out for more posts like this in the future! I'm Kayleigh, extraterrestrial life form and teen authoress extraordinaire, and I'll see you next week.

Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narration
https://www.scribophile.com/academy/using-third-person-omniscient-pov

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