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It's somewhat awkward to admit, but I'll say it. A handful of books wait next to my bed, each partially read. Inside my smartphone, I'm some distance through over three dozen audio novels, which looks minor alongside the 46 ebooks I've left unfinished on my e-reader. That does not account for the growing collection of pre-release editions beside my side table, striving for blurbs, now that I am a professional writer personally.

From Determined Reading to Intentional Letting Go

At first glance, these stats might appear to confirm recently expressed thoughts about today's attention spans. An author noted a short while ago how simple it is to break a reader's concentration when it is scattered by online networks and the news cycle. He remarked: “It could be as people's concentration change the fiction will have to adjust with them.” But as an individual who used to stubbornly finish any title I picked up, I now regard it a human right to set aside a story that I'm not connecting with.

The Finite Time and the Wealth of Choices

I don't believe that this tendency is caused by a limited attention span – more accurately it relates to the sense of time slipping through my fingers. I've often been impressed by the Benedictine maxim: “Keep mortality each day in view.” One reminder that we each have a mere limited time on this planet was as horrifying to me as to others. However at what different time in our past have we ever had such direct availability to so many incredible masterpieces, at any moment we desire? A surplus of riches greets me in each bookshop and behind every device, and I strive to be intentional about where I focus my energy. Might “not finishing” a book (shorthand in the publishing industry for Unfinished) be not a mark of a limited mind, but a selective one?

Choosing for Connection and Reflection

Notably at a period when the industry (consequently, commissioning) is still led by a particular demographic and its issues. Although exploring about individuals different from our own lives can help to develop the ability for understanding, we furthermore read to think about our personal lives and place in the world. Unless the titles on the displays more accurately depict the experiences, realities and issues of potential individuals, it might be quite challenging to hold their interest.

Modern Writing and Consumer Engagement

Certainly, some novelists are actually effectively crafting for the “contemporary interest”: the concise writing of some modern books, the tight pieces of additional writers, and the quick chapters of several contemporary stories are all a impressive demonstration for a more concise approach and technique. Furthermore there is an abundance of craft advice geared toward capturing a reader: perfect that first sentence, polish that beginning section, increase the stakes (more! further!) and, if creating mystery, place a dead body on the opening. That suggestions is entirely sound – a possible agent, publisher or reader will devote only a several limited seconds determining whether or not to continue. There's no point in being difficult, like the individual on a workshop I attended who, when challenged about the plot of their book, stated that “it all becomes clear about three-fourths of the into the story”. No writer should force their follower through a series of 12 labours in order to be comprehended.

Creating to Be Accessible and Giving Patience

Yet I absolutely write to be understood, as far as that is possible. Sometimes that needs leading the reader's attention, steering them through the story beat by succinct step. At other times, I've understood, understanding requires perseverance – and I must give myself (as well as other creators) the permission of exploring, of building, of straying, until I find something authentic. An influential writer argues for the story discovering innovative patterns and that, instead of the traditional dramatic arc, “alternative structures might assist us conceive innovative approaches to craft our narratives dynamic and true, continue making our novels fresh”.

Evolution of the Book and Contemporary Formats

In that sense, the two perspectives converge – the fiction may have to adapt to accommodate the today's reader, as it has repeatedly done since it first emerged in the 18th century (as we know it today). Maybe, like past writers, coming creators will return to releasing in parts their novels in newspapers. The future such authors may even now be publishing their content, section by section, on digital platforms including those used by many of regular readers. Creative mediums evolve with the period and we should let them.

More Than Short Focus

But we should not assert that all evolutions are completely because of limited attention spans. Were that true, concise narrative anthologies and flash fiction would be viewed far more {commercial|profitable|marketable