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This is a bit uncomfortable to admit, but here goes. A handful of titles sit next to my bed, each incompletely finished. On my phone, I'm midway through thirty-six listening titles, which looks minor compared to the forty-six Kindle titles I've set aside on my digital device. This does not include the growing collection of advance copies near my living room table, competing for endorsements, now that I work as a published writer personally.

From Persistent Finishing to Purposeful Letting Go

At first glance, these stats might look to corroborate recently expressed comments about modern attention spans. One novelist observed not long back how effortless it is to break a reader's focus when it is divided by digital platforms and the 24-hour news. They suggested: “Perhaps as individuals' attention spans change the literature will have to adjust with them.” However as a person who used to doggedly get through every novel I picked up, I now consider it a personal freedom to put down a book that I'm not in the mood for.

The Short Duration and the Abundance of Possibilities

I don't believe that this practice is caused by a short attention span – instead it stems from the sense of existence passing quickly. I've consistently been struck by the monastic teaching: “Place mortality each day in view.” One reminder that we each have a just limited time on this Earth was as sobering to me as to anyone else. But at what other point in history have we ever had such direct entry to so many incredible masterpieces, anytime we desire? A surplus of options greets me in each bookshop and on every screen, and I strive to be deliberate about where I channel my energy. Could “abandoning” a book (term in the literary community for Did Not Finish) be rather than a mark of a limited mind, but a thoughtful one?

Reading for Understanding and Reflection

Especially at a time when the industry (consequently, selection) is still controlled by a certain social class and its issues. Even though reading about characters different from ourselves can help to strengthen the muscle for empathy, we additionally select stories to consider our individual lives and position in the society. Before the books on the racks better represent the backgrounds, stories and concerns of potential individuals, it might be extremely hard to hold their interest.

Contemporary Writing and Audience Attention

Of course, some authors are skillfully writing for the “modern attention span”: the short writing of certain modern books, the tight pieces of different authors, and the quick parts of numerous contemporary books are all a impressive demonstration for a shorter approach and technique. And there is plenty of craft tips designed for securing a reader: refine that opening line, enhance that start, increase the stakes (more! further!) and, if creating crime, put a victim on the opening. This guidance is entirely solid – a potential publisher, house or audience will devote only a several limited minutes choosing whether or not to forge ahead. There's no benefit in being difficult, like the individual on a workshop I joined who, when challenged about the storyline of their manuscript, stated that “it all becomes clear about three-quarters of the into the story”. No author should force their audience through a series of 12 labours in order to be comprehended.

Crafting to Be Clear and Granting Patience

But I certainly write to be understood, as to the extent as that is achievable. Sometimes that demands guiding the reader's interest, guiding them through the plot beat by succinct step. At other times, I've understood, understanding demands perseverance – and I must give my own self (along with other authors) the grace of exploring, of building, of straying, until I discover something meaningful. An influential writer contends for the fiction developing innovative patterns and that, rather than the standard dramatic arc, “alternative patterns might assist us envision novel methods to create our narratives vital and real, keep making our books fresh”.

Change of the Story and Modern Mediums

Accordingly, the two opinions align – the fiction may have to change to fit the modern reader, as it has repeatedly achieved since it began in the 18th century (in the form now). Maybe, like previous writers, coming writers will go back to serialising their books in newspapers. The next these writers may even now be sharing their content, chapter by chapter, on web-based platforms including those used by millions of frequent users. Creative mediums change with the era and we should permit them.

Beyond Brief Concentration

Yet we should not say that all evolutions are entirely because of shorter focus. If that were the case, concise narrative collections and micro tales would be considered far more {commercial|profitable|marketable