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This is a bit awkward to confess, but let me explain. A handful of books rest beside my bed, all incompletely consumed. Within my phone, I'm midway through over three dozen audiobooks, which seems small compared to the forty-six Kindle titles I've abandoned on my digital device. That does not include the expanding stack of pre-release editions near my side table, vying for blurbs, now that I am a published writer myself.

Starting with Determined Finishing to Intentional Abandonment

At first glance, these figures might seem to confirm recent opinions about current focus. A writer commented not long back how effortless it is to break a reader's focus when it is divided by social media and the 24-hour news. He stated: “Perhaps as people's focus periods shift the fiction will have to adjust with them.” But as someone who used to doggedly get through whatever novel I picked up, I now regard it a human right to put down a story that I'm not in the mood for.

The Finite Time and the Glut of Possibilities

I don't believe that this practice is due to a limited focus – rather more it comes from the awareness of life moving swiftly. I've always been struck by the spiritual principle: “Keep death each day before your eyes.” A different reminder that we each have a only finite period on this Earth was as sobering to me as to everyone. And yet at what different time in our past have we ever had such direct access to so many amazing creative works, anytime we want? A surplus of treasures meets me in every bookstore and on any device, and I want to be deliberate about where I focus my time. Might “not finishing” a story (shorthand in the book world for Unfinished) be rather than a sign of a weak focus, but a thoughtful one?

Reading for Connection and Insight

Particularly at a period when the industry (and therefore, acquisition) is still led by a particular group and its concerns. Even though exploring about characters unlike ourselves can help to strengthen the capacity for compassion, we additionally read to reflect on our own experiences and place in the universe. Unless the titles on the racks better reflect the identities, stories and interests of prospective audiences, it might be quite difficult to hold their attention.

Modern Authorship and Audience Interest

Naturally, some authors are actually effectively writing for the “today's focus”: the short style of some recent novels, the focused sections of different authors, and the brief sections of several contemporary stories are all a impressive demonstration for a more concise style and style. And there is plenty of author guidance aimed at grabbing a consumer: hone that first sentence, improve that start, raise the tension (more! more!) and, if crafting crime, introduce a mystery on the beginning. That advice is completely sound – a prospective representative, publisher or reader will spend only a a handful of precious seconds deciding whether or not to continue. There is little reason in being difficult, like the individual on a workshop I joined who, when confronted about the storyline of their book, stated that “the meaning emerges about three-fourths of the way through”. Not a single novelist should subject their follower through a sequence of challenges in order to be comprehended.

Writing to Be Accessible and Giving Patience

But I do write to be understood, as far as that is feasible. Sometimes that requires holding the consumer's interest, directing them through the plot beat by efficient point. Sometimes, I've discovered, understanding requires perseverance – and I must give my own self (and other creators) the grace of meandering, of layering, of digressing, until I discover something meaningful. One writer makes the case for the novel developing new forms and that, instead of the standard plot structure, “alternative patterns might help us imagine novel approaches to craft our stories vital and real, persist in creating our novels fresh”.

Transformation of the Story and Contemporary Platforms

From that perspective, both viewpoints agree – the fiction may have to change to accommodate the modern consumer, as it has repeatedly done since it began in the 18th century (as we know it today). It could be, like earlier novelists, tomorrow's writers will go back to serialising their books in publications. The next these authors may even now be sharing their work, chapter by chapter, on digital services like those accessed by millions of monthly users. Creative mediums change with the era and we should let them.

Beyond Brief Concentration

However we should not claim that every shifts are all because of shorter attention spans. If that were the case, brief fiction anthologies and micro tales would be viewed far more {commercial|profitable|marketable