Definition
Limited omniscience is a narrator who knows more than the focal character but not everything. The voice may know one character's history or future while withholding other secrets from the reader.
Example
Elena smiled at the offer, unaware that the company would collapse in a week gives the reader knowledge Elena lacks, but not full access to every mind.
Related terms
Common mistakes
- Treating limited omniscience as a license to comment on every character whenever convenient.
- Forgetting to establish what the narrator can and cannot know, so revelations feel arbitrary.