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This is a bit awkward to reveal, but here goes. Several titles rest beside my bed, all partially read. On my mobile device, I'm some distance through thirty-six audio novels, which pales compared to the forty-six ebooks I've abandoned on my digital device. This doesn't account for the growing stack of advance editions next to my coffee table, vying for endorsements, now that I work as a published writer myself.

Beginning with Dogged Reading to Purposeful Abandonment

At first glance, these numbers might seem to corroborate recently expressed opinions about modern focus. One novelist commented a short while ago how easy it is to distract a person's attention when it is scattered by social media and the news cycle. He stated: “Perhaps as people's attention spans shift the fiction will have to change with them.” However as someone who previously would doggedly get through whatever book I picked up, I now view it a human right to set aside a book that I'm not in the mood for.

Our Short Duration and the Glut of Possibilities

I wouldn't think that this habit is caused by a limited attention span – instead it stems from the sense of existence moving swiftly. I've often been impressed by the spiritual principle: “Place death each day in mind.” Another idea that we each have a mere limited time on this Earth was as sobering to me as to everyone. However at what different time in human history have we ever had such direct access to so many amazing creative works, whenever we want? A glut of treasures awaits me in every bookstore and within any digital platform, and I want to be deliberate about where I focus my attention. Is it possible “DNF-ing” a story (term in the literary community for Did Not Finish) be not a sign of a weak intellect, but a thoughtful one?

Choosing for Understanding and Reflection

Particularly at a time when book production (consequently, acquisition) is still controlled by a certain group and its quandaries. Although engaging with about individuals unlike ourselves can help to build the capacity for compassion, we furthermore select stories to consider our own journeys and role in the world. Before the titles on the shelves more accurately represent the backgrounds, lives and interests of possible audiences, it might be extremely difficult to keep their interest.

Contemporary Writing and Consumer Attention

Naturally, some novelists are indeed skillfully writing for the “modern interest”: the tweet-length prose of selected modern novels, the compact pieces of others, and the brief sections of numerous contemporary books are all a impressive showcase for a more concise style and technique. Additionally there is plenty of author guidance designed for securing a consumer: hone that opening line, enhance that start, increase the tension (further! more!) and, if creating thriller, introduce a dead body on the opening. Such guidance is completely good – a potential representative, publisher or reader will devote only a few precious seconds choosing whether or not to proceed. There is little reason in being obstinate, like the writer on a class I participated in who, when challenged about the storyline of their manuscript, announced that “everything makes sense about 75% of the through the book”. No novelist should put their audience through a series of difficult tasks in order to be grasped.

Creating to Be Accessible and Allowing Time

And I do create to be understood, as far as that is achievable. Sometimes that needs guiding the reader's attention, guiding them through the narrative step by efficient point. At other times, I've discovered, understanding takes time – and I must grant me (and other authors) the permission of wandering, of layering, of straying, until I find something authentic. One writer contends for the novel developing fresh structures and that, instead of the traditional dramatic arc, “alternative patterns might assist us envision novel methods to create our tales vital and real, persist in creating our books fresh”.

Evolution of the Novel and Modern Mediums

In that sense, both opinions align – the novel may have to evolve to accommodate the contemporary audience, as it has continually achieved since it first emerged in the 18th century (in the form currently). Perhaps, like previous authors, tomorrow's writers will revert to publishing incrementally their books in newspapers. The upcoming such writers may even now be sharing their content, chapter by chapter, on web-based services including those accessed by millions of regular visitors. Creative mediums change with the period and we should allow them.

Not Just Short Attention Spans

However let us not assert that all changes are completely because of shorter focus. Were that true, concise narrative anthologies and micro tales would be considered far more {commercial|profitable|marketable