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This is slightly uncomfortable to confess, but here goes. A handful of novels wait by my bed, all partially finished. Inside my smartphone, I'm midway through 36 audiobooks, which pales alongside the 46 Kindle titles I've left unfinished on my e-reader. This does not include the growing collection of early versions near my living room table, competing for endorsements, now that I work as a published novelist in my own right.

Beginning with Dogged Finishing to Deliberate Abandonment

On the surface, these numbers might look to confirm contemporary opinions about current attention spans. An author observed recently how simple it is to break a person's concentration when it is fragmented by social media and the constant updates. The author suggested: “It could be as individuals' focus periods shift the fiction will have to adjust with them.” But as someone who previously would persistently get through whatever title I began, I now consider it a individual choice to put down a story that I'm not in the mood for.

The Finite Duration and the Glut of Options

I do not think that this tendency is a result of a limited concentration – instead it stems from the awareness of existence slipping through my fingers. I've consistently been affected by the Benedictine principle: “Place death every day in view.” One idea that we each have a just 4,000 weeks on this planet was as horrifying to me as to anyone else. And yet at what other moment in human history have we ever had such immediate access to so many amazing creative works, at any moment we choose? A glut of treasures meets me in any library and within every digital platform, and I aim to be intentional about where I channel my attention. Could “abandoning” a book (shorthand in the book world for Incomplete) be rather than a sign of a poor mind, but a thoughtful one?

Selecting for Empathy and Insight

Particularly at a time when book production (and thus, commissioning) is still led by a certain demographic and its quandaries. Although engaging with about people unlike us can help to develop the ability for compassion, we furthermore select stories to consider our personal journeys and position in the society. Until the books on the displays more accurately represent the experiences, realities and interests of possible individuals, it might be quite hard to maintain their attention.

Modern Storytelling and Reader Engagement

Naturally, some novelists are actually effectively creating for the “contemporary focus”: the short writing of selected recent books, the tight pieces of others, and the brief parts of several modern titles are all a impressive demonstration for a more concise form and method. And there is an abundance of craft tips aimed at capturing a audience: hone that initial phrase, improve that opening chapter, increase the tension (higher! further!) and, if writing mystery, put a victim on the first page. That advice is completely solid – a possible representative, publisher or buyer will spend only a several limited seconds determining whether or not to forge ahead. There's no benefit in being obstinate, like the writer on a workshop I attended who, when challenged about the storyline of their manuscript, announced that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the through the book”. Not a single author should force their audience through a sequence of difficult tasks in order to be grasped.

Writing to Be Understood and Allowing Patience

But I certainly create to be clear, as to the extent as that is achievable. Sometimes that requires leading the audience's hand, directing them through the story beat by succinct step. At other times, I've understood, insight takes perseverance – and I must grant myself (along with other authors) the grace of exploring, of building, of straying, until I hit upon something meaningful. An influential thinker makes the case for the novel finding new forms and that, instead of the conventional dramatic arc, “alternative structures might enable us envision novel approaches to create our narratives vital and authentic, keep producing our novels fresh”.

Change of the Book and Modern Mediums

Accordingly, each viewpoints agree – the fiction may have to adapt to accommodate the today's consumer, as it has continually done since it began in the historical period (in the form today). Perhaps, like earlier authors, coming writers will return to serialising their novels in periodicals. The upcoming these creators may currently be publishing their writing, part by part, on web-based services like those accessed by millions of frequent visitors. Art forms change with the period and we should permit them.

Not Just Limited Attention Spans

However do not say that every shifts are entirely because of shorter focus. If that were the case, short story anthologies and very short stories would be regarded far more {commercial|profitable|marketable