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It's slightly uncomfortable to reveal, but here goes. Several novels rest beside my bed, all only partly finished. Within my smartphone, I'm some distance through thirty-six listening titles, which pales compared to the forty-six ebooks I've left unfinished on my e-reader. This fails to count the increasing collection of early copies beside my living room table, vying for praises, now that I am a professional author personally.

Beginning with Determined Completion to Intentional Setting Aside

On the surface, these numbers might seem to confirm contemporary opinions about today's focus. A writer commented a short while ago how easy it is to distract a person's concentration when it is fragmented by social media and the constant updates. The author stated: “Maybe as people's focus periods change the fiction will have to adapt with them.” However as an individual who used to stubbornly finish every book I started, I now view it a human right to stop reading a story that I'm not enjoying.

Our Limited Duration and the Abundance of Possibilities

I don't feel that this habit is due to a short focus – rather more it stems from the feeling of life passing quickly. I've always been struck by the Benedictine teaching: “Place death each day before your eyes.” Another point that we each have a only finite period on this planet was as horrifying to me as to anyone else. And yet at what other point in history have we ever had such direct access to so many mind-blowing masterpieces, anytime we desire? A glut of treasures greets me in each bookshop and within any digital platform, and I want to be deliberate about where I channel my time. Is it possible “not finishing” a novel (term in the book world for Did Not Finish) be rather than a sign of a limited focus, but a thoughtful one?

Reading for Connection and Insight

Notably at a period when publishing (consequently, commissioning) is still controlled by a certain group and its quandaries. While reading about individuals unlike ourselves can help to strengthen the muscle for empathy, we furthermore select stories to think about our own journeys and place in the world. Unless the books on the displays better represent the identities, realities and issues of prospective readers, it might be quite hard to maintain their interest.

Modern Storytelling and Reader Attention

Of course, some novelists are skillfully writing for the “today's focus”: the short writing of some recent novels, the compact pieces of others, and the quick parts of numerous recent books are all a excellent demonstration for a more concise style and style. Furthermore there is no shortage of author tips designed for grabbing a audience: hone that first sentence, improve that opening chapter, raise the stakes (further! more!) and, if crafting thriller, place a victim on the first page. That suggestions is entirely good – a prospective representative, publisher or buyer will spend only a several valuable minutes deciding whether or not to continue. There is no benefit in being contrary, like the person on a writing course I joined who, when challenged about the plot of their book, declared that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the way through”. Not a single novelist should force their follower through a set of challenges in order to be comprehended.

Writing to Be Accessible and Allowing Time

Yet I do compose to be comprehended, as to the extent as that is possible. On occasion that demands holding the reader's attention, steering them through the narrative step by efficient step. At other times, I've realised, comprehension takes time – and I must give myself (and other writers) the grace of meandering, of layering, of straying, until I find something true. An influential author contends for the story finding new forms and that, rather than the conventional narrative arc, “different forms might help us conceive new approaches to create our stories vital and true, keep creating our books original”.

Evolution of the Story and Current Platforms

In that sense, both viewpoints converge – the novel may have to change to accommodate the today's audience, as it has constantly achieved since it began in the historical period (in its current incarnation currently). Perhaps, like past authors, future creators will return to serialising their works in publications. The future these writers may already be publishing their work, section by section, on online sites including those used by many of regular visitors. Genres shift with the period and we should permit them.

Beyond Limited Attention Spans

But we should not assert that all changes are entirely because of limited concentration. If that was so, brief fiction collections and very short stories would be viewed much more {commercial|profitable|marketable