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It's a bit awkward to reveal, but let me explain. Five novels rest beside my bed, all partially consumed. Inside my mobile device, I'm midway through thirty-six listening titles, which looks minor alongside the forty-six digital books I've set aside on my e-reader. The situation doesn't count the growing collection of early copies beside my side table, striving for blurbs, now that I am a established author personally.

Starting with Determined Completion to Intentional Abandonment

At first glance, these numbers might appear to support contemporary opinions about modern concentration. One novelist observed a short while ago how effortless it is to lose a reader's concentration when it is fragmented by digital platforms and the news cycle. He suggested: “It could be as readers' attention spans shift the writing will have to adapt with them.” But as an individual who once would persistently finish whatever novel I picked up, I now view it a personal freedom to put down a story that I'm not connecting with.

Our Finite Time and the Glut of Options

I don't feel that this habit is a result of a limited attention span – more accurately it stems from the awareness of time passing quickly. I've always been struck by the Benedictine principle: “Place mortality each day in mind.” Another idea that we each have a just limited time on this world was as sobering to me as to others. But at what previous moment in human history have we ever had such instant access to so many mind-blowing masterpieces, at any moment we desire? A wealth of riches greets me in each bookstore and within any screen, and I aim to be deliberate about where I direct my energy. Is it possible “not finishing” a story (term in the literary community for Did Not Finish) be rather than a mark of a weak intellect, but a selective one?

Selecting for Empathy and Self-awareness

Particularly at a period when publishing (and thus, commissioning) is still dominated by a specific social class and its concerns. While reading about characters distinct from our own lives can help to strengthen the capacity for empathy, we furthermore select stories to reflect on our individual experiences and place in the society. Unless the books on the displays more fully represent the backgrounds, stories and concerns of potential audiences, it might be quite hard to keep their interest.

Modern Writing and Audience Interest

Certainly, some writers are skillfully creating for the “today's focus”: the concise prose of some current works, the focused sections of additional writers, and the short parts of several modern titles are all a impressive showcase for a shorter form and style. Additionally there is an abundance of craft advice geared toward capturing a reader: hone that initial phrase, enhance that beginning section, increase the tension (more! higher!) and, if writing mystery, place a mystery on the beginning. This guidance is entirely solid – a possible publisher, editor or buyer will spend only a a handful of valuable seconds deciding whether or not to continue. There is little reason in being difficult, like the individual on a workshop I participated in who, when challenged about the plot of their book, declared that “everything makes sense about three-quarters of the way through”. Not a single novelist should put their audience through a set of challenges in order to be understood.

Crafting to Be Clear and Giving Patience

Yet I do create to be clear, as much as that is achievable. Sometimes that needs holding the audience's interest, directing them through the narrative step by succinct beat. Occasionally, I've realised, comprehension requires time – and I must give me (along with other writers) the grace of wandering, of adding depth, of deviating, until I find something meaningful. An influential writer makes the case for the story developing fresh structures and that, as opposed to the conventional dramatic arc, “other patterns might enable us conceive new methods to create our narratives alive and true, keep creating our works fresh”.

Evolution of the Story and Modern Formats

In that sense, both opinions converge – the novel may have to evolve to accommodate the modern audience, as it has repeatedly done since it first emerged in the 18th century (as we know it now). It could be, like previous writers, tomorrow's creators will return to releasing in parts their works in publications. The next those writers may currently be releasing their content, part by part, on online services such as those accessed by millions of frequent users. Art forms evolve with the times and we should let them.

More Than Short Attention Spans

However let us not assert that every changes are completely because of limited concentration. If that was so, brief fiction compilations and micro tales would be considered considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable