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It's somewhat uncomfortable to confess, but here goes. A handful of novels sit by my bed, all partially consumed. On my mobile device, I'm midway through thirty-six listening titles, which pales alongside the 46 Kindle titles I've abandoned on my Kindle. The situation doesn't account for the expanding stack of early copies next to my coffee table, vying for blurbs, now that I work as a established author personally.

Starting with Persistent Finishing to Deliberate Abandonment

On the surface, these stats might appear to support contemporary thoughts about modern attention spans. A writer observed a short while ago how effortless it is to distract a reader's attention when it is divided by social media and the news cycle. The author suggested: “Perhaps as individuals' attention spans shift the writing will have to adjust with them.” Yet as an individual who previously would stubbornly get through any title I began, I now consider it a human right to set aside a story that I'm not connecting with.

Our Short Duration and the Abundance of Choices

I don't believe that this tendency is due to a short concentration – more accurately it stems from the sense of existence moving swiftly. I've often been impressed by the monastic principle: “Hold death each day before your eyes.” One reminder that we each have a mere 4,000 weeks on this planet was as sobering to me as to anyone else. And yet at what other moment in human history have we ever had such direct availability to so many amazing works of art, anytime we desire? A glut of riches meets me in every bookstore and on any digital platform, and I aim to be deliberate about where I focus my energy. Might “not finishing” a novel (term in the book world for Did Not Finish) be not a mark of a weak intellect, but a selective one?

Selecting for Empathy and Self-awareness

Especially at a time when the industry (and thus, commissioning) is still controlled by a certain group and its quandaries. Even though exploring about characters unlike ourselves can help to develop the capacity for empathy, we furthermore select stories to consider our own experiences and place in the world. Unless the works on the racks better represent the identities, lives and concerns of possible readers, it might be extremely challenging to hold their focus.

Modern Storytelling and Consumer Interest

Certainly, some novelists are actually skillfully crafting for the “today's focus”: the tweet-length style of certain current works, the tight pieces of additional writers, and the short sections of various modern books are all a impressive demonstration for a briefer form and method. And there is an abundance of craft advice designed for grabbing a audience: perfect that opening line, enhance that start, raise the tension (more! more!) and, if writing thriller, put a victim on the beginning. Such guidance is all solid – a possible representative, publisher or audience will use only a few limited moments determining whether or not to proceed. There's little reason in being contrary, like the writer on a writing course I participated in who, when questioned about the storyline of their novel, announced that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the through the book”. No novelist should subject their audience through a sequence of difficult tasks in order to be understood.

Crafting to Be Accessible and Granting Space

But I certainly write to be comprehended, as to the extent as that is possible. At times that demands guiding the consumer's hand, directing them through the story point by efficient step. Sometimes, I've understood, insight takes time – and I must give me (along with other authors) the permission of exploring, of adding depth, of straying, until I find something meaningful. An influential thinker contends for the fiction developing new forms and that, as opposed to the traditional dramatic arc, “different forms might enable us envision novel ways to make our narratives vital and authentic, continue producing our novels fresh”.

Transformation of the Novel and Modern Platforms

From that perspective, the two opinions align – the fiction may have to evolve to accommodate the today's consumer, as it has continually accomplished since it first emerged in the 18th century (in its current incarnation currently). Maybe, like past writers, coming writers will return to serialising their novels in publications. The future such creators may currently be sharing their writing, chapter by chapter, on web-based platforms such as those accessed by millions of monthly visitors. Art forms shift with the times and we should allow them.

Beyond Brief Concentration

However do not assert that every shifts are completely because of shorter focus. If that were the case, concise narrative anthologies and very short stories would be regarded much more {commercial|profitable|marketable