When I write, I describe the world through the eyes of my characters looking out or my eyes looking in. I get to know my characters well. I understand their quirks, and the tricks their lives played on them. I am omniscient. God.

The omniscient approach distances the writer from his character and allows him to observe the space the character lives in from a broad perspective. It gives him flexibility. The reader, on the other hand, wants to be invested in the character. Stay close to the character’s soul and observe the progression and the change in an intimate way. Not just the facts, the action, but the innermost feelings. As the character’s emotions are on vivid display, it is less work for the reader, more work for the narrator.

I like to do it both ways. Be both. In and out. Omniscient when I feel that I need the wider perspective, otherwise stay within the character. Create drama and tension, until I let go. There is a Romanian sculptor known all over the world: Brancusi. His Infinite Column comprises identical pieces carefully carved, bubbles of stone one on top of the other emulating the mathematical symbol for infinity turned on is head, vertical, going up and up. The column narrows and widens again and again. In and out.

That is how I write. Get close to my character, create drama, and step away again. I know this approach worked for many major writers (Tolstoy, Eliot, Rowling, Atwood, to name a few). AI says this blending of omniscient author and character’s point of view creates a dynamic, rich, layered story I hope my readers will enjoy.