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This is a bit uncomfortable to confess, but here goes. Several books wait by my bed, every one partially read. On my phone, I'm partway through over three dozen listening titles, which seems small next to the 46 digital books I've set aside on my digital device. That fails to account for the increasing stack of pre-release copies next to my coffee table, striving for praises, now that I am a established author myself.

Starting with Determined Finishing to Intentional Setting Aside

At first glance, these figures might look to confirm recently expressed opinions about current attention spans. An author noted not long back how easy it is to break a person's focus when it is scattered by online networks and the 24-hour news. The author suggested: “Maybe as individuals' focus periods evolve the writing will have to adjust with them.” Yet as a person who previously would persistently get through whatever title I started, I now regard it a individual choice to put down a book that I'm not connecting with.

Life's Limited Time and the Wealth of Choices

I do not think that this practice is a result of a short attention span – rather more it relates to the sense of life slipping through my fingers. I've consistently been impressed by the Benedictine principle: “Hold the end daily before your eyes.” Another idea that we each have a just limited time on this planet was as shocking to me as to others. And yet at what different time in history have we ever had such immediate access to so many mind-blowing creative works, whenever we want? A surplus of treasures awaits me in every library and behind any digital platform, and I want to be intentional about where I direct my energy. Could “abandoning” a novel (shorthand in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be rather than a sign of a poor mind, but a selective one?

Selecting for Understanding and Insight

Notably at a era when publishing (and therefore, acquisition) is still led by a certain demographic and its concerns. Even though engaging with about characters distinct from us can help to develop the ability for understanding, we furthermore read to reflect on our own experiences and role in the society. Unless the books on the shelves more fully depict the identities, lives and issues of potential individuals, it might be extremely challenging to hold their interest.

Modern Writing and Consumer Attention

Naturally, some writers are actually effectively writing for the “today's focus”: the concise prose of selected current works, the focused pieces of different authors, and the brief chapters of numerous contemporary titles are all a excellent showcase for a more concise style and style. And there is no shortage of author advice designed for securing a audience: refine that opening line, improve that beginning section, raise the stakes (higher! higher!) and, if creating mystery, place a mystery on the first page. Such guidance is entirely sound – a potential publisher, house or buyer will spend only a few valuable minutes determining whether or not to proceed. It is no point in being obstinate, like the person on a class I attended who, when questioned about the narrative of their book, announced that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the through the book”. No author should force their reader through a series of 12 labours in order to be comprehended.

Writing to Be Clear and Allowing Space

But I certainly write to be understood, as much as that is achievable. At times that requires leading the consumer's attention, steering them through the plot point by succinct step. Sometimes, I've realised, comprehension takes perseverance – and I must grant myself (along with other authors) the grace of meandering, of layering, of straying, until I discover something meaningful. One author makes the case for the story finding new forms and that, rather than the conventional dramatic arc, “alternative patterns might enable us conceive new approaches to create our tales alive and true, continue making our books original”.

Evolution of the Story and Modern Mediums

From that perspective, the two perspectives converge – the fiction may have to evolve to accommodate the contemporary consumer, as it has constantly done since it originated in the 1700s (in the form now). It could be, like past novelists, future creators will revert to serialising their books in publications. The next those writers may currently be sharing their writing, chapter by chapter, on online sites like those visited by countless of frequent readers. Art forms evolve with the period and we should allow them.

Not Just Limited Attention Spans

But let us not say that all evolutions are completely because of reduced attention spans. If that was so, concise narrative collections and flash fiction would be viewed far more {commercial|profitable|marketable