Despite the unique abilities of the first-person narrator, there are still limitations to what they can reveal and how they can be used to advance a story. And some stories just need a third-person perspective to efficiently deliver the desired effect. Ironically, some third-person narration styles can even do what a first-person narrator does and more. This is why most modern narrative fiction seems to adopt a third-person narrator. So, if you want to use the third-person point of view, you should be well aware of its varieties: the close third person, the remote third person and the omniscient third person.

The Close Third Person

The close third-person seems to be the default narration style of most modern narrative fiction. Here, the writer assumes the viewpoint of one character at a time. And the narration stays close to what that character feels, knows and witnesses, just like a first-person narrator. 

However, this third-person narrator can dive deeper into the character's mind and soul more than the first-person narration can allow. It is not limited by what a character knows about himself or other people. This narration has a broader understanding that transcends what a character acknowledges or is willing to admit and can show everything about a character.  

The close third-person narration allows you to maintain the same authorial voice while moving from the viewpoint of one character to another. You can also include a first-person narration of a character's thoughts within the third-person narration. This is often implemented with italics or quotation marks.

The Remote Third Person

This narration doesn't give readers access to the mind of the characters. It simply portrays the events in the story strictly from a photographic standpoint. This narrative style looks similar to the objective first-person. But it doesn't share personal opinions, informed guesses, and analysis of who the characters are and the reason behind their actions, like the first-person narrator could sometimes do.

An objective first-person narrator often has a form of relationship with the main characters in the story. And this friendship or closeness, coupled with his personal background, tends to tint the way he tells the story regardless of his remoteness. But a remote third-person narrator doesn't share any relationship with the characters. It delivers a cold camera-view account of events and leaves readers to develop their own theories and assumptions.

However, some 18th and 19th-century novels contain examples of third-person narration where the author is engaged and passes strong opinions about the characters and events in the story. Charles Dickens is famous for using this third-person narration style, which boldly expresses severe remarks about injustice and unfairness in the story's society.

The Omniscient Third Person

This is the all-seen-eye narration in narrative fiction. It gives readers access to everything: a broader view of the story's society, the close dialogue between characters, and the characters' secret thoughts, even the things they are yet to realize about themselves.

A remarkable ability of the omniscient third person is that you can morph from the broadest viewpoint to the most narrow, intimate perspective within a single chapter or a single passage of the story. It could incorporate a camera view, remote standpoint with a judgmental authorial voice.

Also, an omniscient third-person narration can include a close third person. Here, readers get multiple viewpoints of the story at different times, a remote third person, a judgmental third person, a first-person point of view included in italics, and a close third person. When using this narration style, you need to have a well-mapped-out plot. Plotting will help you decide what to reveal and what perspective will best advance the story.