Point of View in Fiction, Part II: Degrees of Omniscience

Class Description

The word “omniscience” in the context of fiction may bring to mind sweeping nineteenth century novels and long-winded, all-seeing narrators with the power to dip in and out of the thoughts of even the most minor character. And while it’s true that an omniscient point of view gives a fictional narrator the potential for a boundless range of motion and a god-like perspective on the world of a story, its basic principles can also be applied more modestly within a range of commonly used points of view. Using passages from classic and contemporary novelists such as Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, Arundhati Roy, Anthony Doerr, Jennifer Egan, and Celeste Ng, we’ll examine tactics and strategies with the goal of developing a better grasp of how degrees of omniscience can be used in our own work to create fiction of unusual depth, clarity, and emotional complexity.

Please be sure to check out Part I of this seminar, "Point of View in Fiction, Part I: POV & Psychic Distance," on Friday, November 3rd.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

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