on Fiction University:

The narrative distance in a novel has more impact on it than you might think. Especially when it comes to point of view.

Over the years, I’ve critiqued a lot of manuscripts, and a common area writers stumble over is narrative distance. They’re not always sure what it is, how to use it, or how it affects their point of view.
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If you’ve never heard the term before, narrative distance is that feeling of closeness (or lack thereof) between the reader and the characters. It’s what makes the point of view feel close or distant.

There’s no “right” narrative distance. It’s up to the writer to decide where they want the reader to be, but it’s easy to fall into a “limbo narrative” where it isn’t clear where—or even who—the narrator is. When this happens, we often slip into telling or too much filtering and readers feel disconnected from the characters and the story.

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