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It's slightly uncomfortable to admit, but let me explain. Five novels rest next to my bed, each incompletely read. On my smartphone, I'm partway through thirty-six listening titles, which looks minor next to the forty-six digital books I've set aside on my Kindle. This does not include the increasing pile of pre-release editions near my side table, vying for blurbs, now that I have become a professional writer personally.

Beginning with Dogged Finishing to Purposeful Letting Go

At first glance, these numbers might look to support recent comments about today's attention spans. One novelist noted a short while ago how easy it is to distract a reader's focus when it is scattered by online networks and the constant updates. They suggested: “Maybe as readers' concentration change the fiction will have to adjust with them.” Yet as someone who previously would stubbornly finish any title I began, I now regard it a human right to put down a novel that I'm not in the mood for.

Our Short Duration and the Abundance of Options

I do not feel that this tendency is due to a short focus – more accurately it stems from the sense of existence moving swiftly. I've often been struck by the Benedictine maxim: “Keep mortality every day in view.” A different point that we each have a mere 4,000 weeks on this Earth was as shocking to me as to everyone. But at what other time in our past have we ever had such direct availability to so many incredible creative works, anytime we want? A surplus of riches meets me in each bookstore and within any screen, and I want to be intentional about where I focus my attention. Might “not finishing” a novel (shorthand in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be not just a mark of a poor focus, but a discerning one?

Selecting for Empathy and Self-awareness

Particularly at a time when publishing (consequently, commissioning) is still dominated by a certain demographic and its concerns. Even though engaging with about individuals different from ourselves can help to build the capacity for empathy, we furthermore choose books to think about our individual journeys and position in the society. Before the books on the shelves more accurately represent the experiences, lives and interests of potential individuals, it might be extremely challenging to maintain their focus.

Modern Storytelling and Audience Interest

Of course, some writers are successfully creating for the “modern interest”: the tweet-length style of certain recent books, the compact sections of others, and the brief sections of several recent titles are all a excellent example for a briefer style and method. Furthermore there is no shortage of craft guidance designed for securing a consumer: refine that first sentence, polish that opening chapter, increase the stakes (more! further!) and, if creating mystery, introduce a mystery on the first page. This suggestions is entirely solid – a prospective publisher, publisher or buyer will devote only a few precious moments deciding whether or not to proceed. There is no point in being obstinate, like the writer on a class I participated in who, when challenged about the storyline of their manuscript, declared that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the through the book”. Not a single author should subject their follower through a sequence of difficult tasks in order to be understood.

Creating to Be Understood and Allowing Space

And I certainly compose to be understood, as far as that is achievable. On occasion that requires leading the reader's attention, guiding them through the plot beat by succinct point. At other times, I've discovered, comprehension requires time – and I must grant myself (as well as other authors) the freedom of meandering, of building, of deviating, until I hit upon something meaningful. One thinker contends for the story discovering new forms and that, rather than the standard plot structure, “different forms might enable us envision new ways to craft our stories dynamic and real, persist in creating our works novel”.

Change of the Book and Contemporary Platforms

From that perspective, both perspectives converge – the novel may have to evolve to accommodate the today's reader, as it has repeatedly done since it first emerged in the 18th century (in its current incarnation currently). It could be, like earlier authors, coming creators will revert to releasing in parts their works in newspapers. The upcoming those creators may currently be publishing their work, part by part, on digital services such as those used by millions of monthly users. Genres evolve with the era and we should let them.

Beyond Brief Focus

However we should not assert that any shifts are entirely because of shorter concentration. If that were the case, short story compilations and flash fiction would be viewed much more {commercial|profitable|marketable