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This is somewhat embarrassing to reveal, but let me explain. Five novels wait by my bed, every one incompletely finished. Inside my mobile device, I'm some distance through 36 listening titles, which pales next to the 46 digital books I've set aside on my e-reader. That does not include the increasing pile of early editions next to my living room table, striving for endorsements, now that I have become a established novelist myself.

From Persistent Completion to Intentional Abandonment

Initially, these stats might look to corroborate contemporary comments about today's focus. A writer noted a short while ago how effortless it is to break a person's attention when it is fragmented by social media and the news cycle. They remarked: “It could be as individuals' focus periods evolve the writing will have to adjust with them.” Yet as someone who once would stubbornly complete whatever title I picked up, I now view it a personal freedom to put down a story that I'm not in the mood for.

Our Short Span and the Abundance of Choices

I don't feel that this practice is caused by a limited attention span – instead it relates to the feeling of time passing quickly. I've often been affected by the monastic teaching: “Keep mortality every day in view.” One point that we each have a only 4,000 weeks on this planet was as horrifying to me as to everyone. And yet at what different time in history have we ever had such direct entry to so many incredible works of art, at any moment we desire? A wealth of treasures awaits me in each library and behind any screen, and I strive to be deliberate about where I direct my time. Is it possible “not finishing” a novel (term in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be not just a indication of a limited focus, but a thoughtful one?

Selecting for Connection and Self-awareness

Especially at a era when book production (consequently, selection) is still dominated by a specific group and its issues. Even though reading about characters different from ourselves can help to strengthen the muscle for understanding, we also select stories to consider our personal lives and place in the universe. Unless the titles on the displays more accurately represent the identities, lives and issues of possible readers, it might be extremely hard to keep their attention.

Contemporary Storytelling and Reader Attention

Of course, some authors are actually effectively creating for the “contemporary focus”: the tweet-length writing of selected recent novels, the focused pieces of different authors, and the short parts of several contemporary stories are all a excellent example for a shorter style and technique. Furthermore there is plenty of author guidance designed for grabbing a consumer: hone that initial phrase, improve that opening chapter, elevate the tension (higher! more!) and, if crafting crime, put a dead body on the opening. Such suggestions is completely sound – a possible agent, publisher or audience will devote only a several valuable minutes determining whether or not to proceed. There is no point in being obstinate, like the person on a class I joined who, when challenged about the plot of their novel, announced that “everything makes sense about three-quarters of the through the book”. Not a single writer should force their reader through a sequence of difficult tasks in order to be comprehended.

Creating to Be Clear and Giving Time

But I do write to be understood, as to the extent as that is achievable. At times that requires guiding the reader's attention, guiding them through the plot beat by efficient step. Sometimes, I've realised, insight demands time – and I must grant my own self (along with other authors) the grace of meandering, of layering, of deviating, until I hit upon something authentic. One thinker argues for the novel finding fresh structures and that, rather than the standard narrative arc, “other structures might help us envision innovative approaches to create our stories dynamic and real, keep creating our works novel”.

Transformation of the Novel and Current Platforms

Accordingly, the two perspectives align – the novel may have to adapt to accommodate the modern consumer, as it has repeatedly done since it began in the historical period (as we know it currently). Maybe, like previous writers, tomorrow's authors will go back to serialising their works in publications. The upcoming such authors may even now be releasing their writing, chapter by chapter, on digital services such as those used by millions of monthly users. Art forms change with the period and we should permit them.

Not Just Brief Concentration

Yet let us not claim that every changes are completely because of reduced concentration. If that was so, brief fiction compilations and very short stories would be viewed much more {commercial|profitable|marketable