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This is a bit awkward to reveal, but here goes. Several books wait next to my bed, every one only partly finished. Within my phone, I'm midway through thirty-six audio novels, which pales next to the 46 Kindle titles I've set aside on my Kindle. This doesn't include the increasing pile of advance copies next to my side table, competing for endorsements, now that I am a published novelist in my own right.

From Persistent Finishing to Purposeful Letting Go

On the surface, these numbers might look to corroborate contemporary opinions about modern attention spans. An author observed a short while ago how effortless it is to lose a reader's attention when it is divided by social media and the constant updates. He remarked: “Maybe as readers' attention spans evolve the fiction will have to adjust with them.” However as someone who used to persistently finish every book I began, I now regard it a personal freedom to put down a book that I'm not in the mood for.

Our Finite Duration and the Glut of Choices

I do not think that this habit is due to a short concentration – instead it stems from the awareness of existence moving swiftly. I've often been impressed by the Benedictine principle: “Place mortality daily before your eyes.” A different idea that we each have a only finite period on this Earth was as horrifying to me as to anyone else. And yet at what different moment in history have we ever had such immediate access to so many amazing creative works, anytime we desire? A surplus of treasures meets me in any bookshop and behind each device, and I strive to be purposeful about where I channel my attention. Might “abandoning” a story (term in the book world for Incomplete) be not just a indication of a limited mind, but a thoughtful one?

Selecting for Empathy and Reflection

Especially at a era when the industry (and thus, commissioning) is still controlled by a specific group and its issues. Even though reading about characters distinct from ourselves can help to strengthen the ability for understanding, we furthermore choose books to think about our personal lives and role in the world. Unless the books on the shelves more accurately represent the identities, stories and interests of prospective individuals, it might be very challenging to hold their interest.

Contemporary Authorship and Audience Engagement

Certainly, some novelists are successfully writing for the “modern attention span”: the short writing of some modern novels, the compact pieces of additional writers, and the quick chapters of various contemporary titles are all a wonderful demonstration for a briefer approach and technique. Furthermore there is an abundance of craft guidance designed for securing a audience: perfect that opening line, enhance that opening chapter, increase the drama (more! further!) and, if crafting crime, introduce a mystery on the first page. That guidance is entirely sound – a prospective representative, publisher or reader will spend only a few precious seconds deciding whether or not to forge ahead. There is no benefit in being obstinate, like the person on a writing course I participated in who, when challenged about the narrative of their novel, declared that “it all becomes clear about three-fourths of the through the book”. No novelist should force their reader through a series of challenges in order to be understood.

Creating to Be Clear and Giving Space

But I absolutely write to be comprehended, as far as that is possible. On occasion that requires holding the audience's interest, steering them through the plot point by efficient step. At other times, I've discovered, understanding demands time – and I must give my own self (and other creators) the permission of exploring, of building, of straying, until I discover something true. An influential writer contends for the fiction discovering new forms and that, instead of the conventional plot structure, “different structures might enable us conceive innovative ways to make our tales alive and authentic, keep creating our books original”.

Change of the Story and Current Platforms

In that sense, both viewpoints converge – the novel may have to adapt to accommodate the contemporary audience, as it has continually done since it first emerged in the 18th century (in its current incarnation today). It could be, like past writers, coming creators will revert to publishing incrementally their novels in publications. The upcoming these creators may even now be publishing their writing, part by part, on web-based services including those accessed by many of regular readers. Art forms evolve with the period and we should permit them.

Not Just Short Focus

However we should not say that any evolutions are completely because of reduced focus. If that were the case, short story anthologies and flash fiction would be regarded far more {commercial|profitable|marketable