It is 6 p.m. on Fiction Friday, and I'm just getting started on this post. Personal issues interrupted my morning writing routine and only my commitment to posting something about fiction on Fridays has me at the computer keyboard this evening to continue my exploration of third person limited and omniscient points of view.

Recap: Third Person Limited POV

The story of Nancy Nolan's tenth anniversary show begins with Nancy in a corridor nervously awaiting her cue to go on. When she receives it a few seconds late, she makes her entrance to thunderous applause that gives her a great feeling of satisfaction. The only hint of trouble we get from Nancy's POV is the slight delay in receiving her cue.

The story continues:

Nancy took the stage and turned slowly in a semicircle, smiling, extending her arms, and raising her hands, gathering the love, letting it energize her. "Thank you. Thank all of you for your support through the years."

With her first words, the applause and cheers lessened. People began taking their seats. Within a minute, the audience took on a quiet attentiveness, allowing Nancy to continue. "Today's show is so special. We have spent months researching and reconnecting with former guests, looking for those whose stories have captivated us then and still inform us about what is most important in our lives: family."

Nancy felt a momentary squeeze in her heart. Family--the one thing she didn't have, had never had, unless she counted the birth mother who abandoned her in a rundown motel room when Nancy was eight. She blinked and pushed past the feeling with a forced smile. "We found the Roberts family. Here are scenes from their original appearance on the show nine years ago." Pictures flashed on the wall screen behind Nancy, and she narrated the Roberts' story of loss and reunion, ending with "And today we have June and Bill Roberts with us to tell us what's been happening since they were last here." She looked expectantly at the door she had come through earlier.

The door didn't open.

Nancy's smile was stretched as tight as her chest.

Recap: Omniscient POV

The story begins with some members of the audience discovering there are no gifts beneath their seats, shifts to Nancy nervously waiting for her cue to go on, and then settles on Annie, the assistant, whose thoughts reveal she dislikes her boss so much she has planned a nasty surprise for Nancy. In this version, omniscient point of view allows for a quicker introduction of the conflict and gives the reader information the main character, Nancy Nolan, doesn't have.

The story continues:

Annie watched the monitor as Nancy quieted the audience and made her introductory remarks about the Roberts family, scheduled as today's guests. Any moment now, Annie would step forward and deliver the first of a series of unsettling messages that would culminate in knocking Nancy on her ungrateful ass.

It had taken almost six months for the show's detectives to track down Charlotte Mills on the skimpy information Annie had supplied, but they were the best, and they had come through.

On the monitor, the scenes of the Roberts family faded. Nancy motioned toward the back of the audience and looked expectantly at the door. Annie straightened. It was time. Putting on a serious face, she pushed through the door and walked swiftly toward the stage to deliver the first surprise of the day. The third and last surprise, Charlotte Mills, was safely tucked away in Annie's office.

Charlotte sat in a room lit only by the television screen. She studied the petite, red-haired woman, searching for anything that reminded her of the eight-year-old daughter she had last seen thirty years before. Of course, she had heard of Nancy Nolan, had even seen the show a couple of times, but she didn't go much for talk shows, hadn't really wanted to go on this one when she first talked to Annie, but the money offered was too much to pass up. She wondered why and when Nancy had changed her name from Mills to Nolan.

Final thought for today

What appears above is a rough draft. Many changes will be made between either version and the final draft. I still feel awkward with omnisicient point of view, but I do like being able to show things the main character doesn't know. 

Which point of view do you usually use and why? If you care to share your thoughts, leave a comment.