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This is somewhat uncomfortable to admit, but let me explain. Several titles rest beside my bed, all only partly finished. Inside my phone, I'm partway through thirty-six audiobooks, which seems small next to the nearly fifty digital books I've set aside on my digital device. This fails to account for the growing stack of pre-release editions beside my side table, vying for endorsements, now that I am a established author personally.

From Persistent Finishing to Purposeful Abandonment

Initially, these stats might look to support recently expressed comments about current concentration. A writer noted a short while ago how simple it is to lose a person's concentration when it is scattered by online networks and the news cycle. They suggested: “Perhaps as readers' concentration evolve the fiction will have to change with them.” Yet as someone who used to doggedly get through whatever novel I started, I now view it a personal freedom to set aside a novel that I'm not enjoying.

The Short Time and the Glut of Possibilities

I wouldn't think that this practice is due to a short concentration – rather more it relates to the awareness of existence slipping through my fingers. I've consistently been struck by the monastic principle: “Place death each day before your eyes.” Another reminder that we each have a mere finite period on this world was as shocking to me as to others. But at what previous point in history have we ever had such direct access to so many incredible creative works, at any moment we choose? A wealth of riches greets me in any library and within each screen, and I strive to be deliberate about where I channel my time. Might “DNF-ing” a novel (abbreviation in the publishing industry for Unfinished) be rather than a sign of a weak intellect, but a thoughtful one?

Choosing for Empathy and Self-awareness

Particularly at a era when the industry (consequently, commissioning) is still controlled by a specific social class and its quandaries. Even though reading about people unlike us can help to build the muscle for compassion, we additionally choose books to consider our own experiences and position in the society. Unless the titles on the racks more fully represent the experiences, realities and issues of prospective audiences, it might be quite hard to maintain their interest.

Modern Storytelling and Reader Attention

Of course, some novelists are actually effectively creating for the “today's attention span”: the short prose of certain recent works, the tight fragments of additional writers, and the brief parts of several modern titles are all a wonderful showcase for a more concise approach and technique. And there is no shortage of craft tips aimed at capturing a audience: perfect that first sentence, polish that start, elevate the drama (more! further!) and, if crafting mystery, place a mystery on the opening. Such advice is all solid – a prospective representative, house or audience will devote only a several valuable moments choosing whether or not to continue. It is no point in being obstinate, like the person on a writing course I attended who, when questioned about the narrative of their novel, stated that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the into the story”. Not a single novelist should subject their audience through a sequence of 12 labours in order to be understood.

Writing to Be Understood and Giving Space

But I do create to be understood, as much as that is possible. At times that demands holding the audience's attention, steering them through the story beat by economical step. At other times, I've realised, insight demands time – and I must give me (along with other creators) the freedom of meandering, of layering, of straying, until I find something meaningful. A particular thinker makes the case for the novel finding innovative patterns and that, rather than the conventional dramatic arc, “different patterns might help us imagine novel ways to make our stories vital and true, continue producing our works novel”.

Evolution of the Novel and Contemporary Mediums

In that sense, both viewpoints agree – the novel may have to adapt to fit the modern audience, as it has continually achieved since it began in the 18th century (as we know it now). Perhaps, like previous novelists, coming writers will go back to serialising their novels in publications. The future such creators may already be sharing their content, section by section, on digital platforms including those accessed by millions of monthly users. Art forms shift with the period and we should allow them.

Not Just Short Focus

However do not assert that all evolutions are entirely because of reduced attention spans. If that was so, concise narrative compilations and flash fiction would be viewed far more {commercial|profitable|marketable