Books I Abandoned Enjoying Are Accumulating by My Bedside. Is It Possible That's a Benefit?

This is slightly embarrassing to admit, but here goes. Several titles sit next to my bed, every one partially finished. Within my phone, I'm partway through thirty-six audio novels, which pales alongside the nearly fifty Kindle titles I've set aside on my digital device. That fails to count the increasing stack of early editions beside my coffee table, vying for endorsements, now that I am a published novelist in my own right.

Starting with Persistent Completion to Purposeful Letting Go

Initially, these figures might look to confirm contemporary thoughts about modern focus. One novelist observed a short while ago how easy it is to distract a person's focus when it is fragmented by social media and the 24-hour news. The author remarked: “Perhaps as readers' attention spans evolve the literature will have to adjust with them.” Yet as a person who used to stubbornly finish any book I picked up, I now view it a individual choice to put down a story that I'm not enjoying.

Our Short Duration and the Glut of Choices

I wouldn't feel that this practice is caused by a short concentration – more accurately it comes from the awareness of time slipping through my fingers. I've consistently been impressed by the Benedictine maxim: “Hold mortality daily before your eyes.” Another idea that we each have a only 4,000 weeks on this Earth was as shocking to me as to everyone. And yet at what different moment in history have we ever had such instant access to so many amazing works of art, whenever we want? A wealth of options meets me in every library and within every digital platform, and I want to be purposeful about where I direct my attention. Might “DNF-ing” a book (shorthand in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be not just a mark of a limited mind, but a thoughtful one?

Selecting for Empathy and Reflection

Particularly at a period when the industry (and therefore, commissioning) is still led by a specific social class and its issues. Even though engaging with about people different from our own lives can help to develop the muscle for compassion, we also read to reflect on our individual journeys and role in the universe. Until the titles on the shelves more accurately depict the identities, lives and concerns of possible audiences, it might be very difficult to maintain their attention.

Modern Writing and Audience Attention

Naturally, some authors are skillfully creating for the “today's focus”: the tweet-length style of some current books, the focused pieces of others, and the short sections of various contemporary books are all a excellent demonstration for a shorter form and style. And there is an abundance of author guidance designed for securing a consumer: refine that opening line, enhance that start, elevate the drama (higher! more!) and, if creating thriller, put a dead body on the opening. That guidance is entirely sound – a possible agent, editor or buyer will devote only a few limited moments deciding whether or not to proceed. It is no benefit in being obstinate, like the person on a class I attended who, when challenged about the plot of their manuscript, declared that “everything makes sense about 75% of the way through”. No novelist should put their audience through a sequence of challenges in order to be comprehended.

Writing to Be Accessible and Giving Space

Yet I do write to be understood, as to the extent as that is achievable. On occasion that requires guiding the reader's hand, directing them through the story beat by efficient step. Occasionally, I've realised, comprehension takes perseverance – and I must give myself (as well as other creators) the permission of meandering, of building, of digressing, until I hit upon something true. A particular thinker contends for the novel discovering new forms and that, rather than the conventional narrative arc, “other patterns might assist us envision innovative approaches to craft our stories vital and true, keep creating our novels fresh”.

Change of the Novel and Modern Platforms

From that perspective, the two perspectives converge – the story may have to evolve to fit the modern consumer, as it has continually achieved since it first emerged in the 1700s (in its current incarnation now). Perhaps, like earlier writers, tomorrow's creators will go back to serialising their books in newspapers. The upcoming such writers may already be releasing their work, part by part, on online services including those accessed by millions of regular users. Creative mediums shift with the times and we should allow them.

Not Just Short Attention Spans

However we should not say that every changes are all because of shorter concentration. If that were the case, concise narrative collections and flash fiction would be considered considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable