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This is a bit awkward to reveal, but I'll say it. A handful of books wait beside my bed, every one partially finished. On my smartphone, I'm midway through over three dozen listening titles, which pales next to the forty-six Kindle titles I've left unfinished on my digital device. This doesn't include the growing stack of pre-release copies beside my living room table, competing for blurbs, now that I am a established author personally.

From Determined Reading to Purposeful Abandonment

At first glance, these numbers might look to confirm recently expressed comments about today's concentration. An author observed recently how easy it is to distract a reader's attention when it is scattered by digital platforms and the news cycle. He suggested: “Maybe as individuals' concentration evolve the literature will have to adapt with them.” However as an individual who used to stubbornly complete whatever book I began, I now view it a human right to put down a book that I'm not connecting with.

Life's Limited Span and the Wealth of Choices

I wouldn't think that this habit is a result of a short concentration – rather more it relates to the feeling of time moving swiftly. I've consistently been struck by the Benedictine maxim: “Keep death every day before your eyes.” A different point that we each have a just finite period on this world was as sobering to me as to others. And yet at what different moment in our past have we ever had such immediate availability to so many incredible works of art, whenever we desire? A wealth of treasures greets me in any bookshop and within each screen, and I want to be deliberate about where I channel my energy. Is it possible “abandoning” a book (abbreviation in the book world for Unfinished) be rather than a mark of a limited intellect, but a selective one?

Selecting for Empathy and Self-awareness

Particularly at a period when book production (and thus, commissioning) is still led by a certain demographic and its issues. Although reading about individuals different from ourselves can help to strengthen the ability for empathy, we additionally select stories to reflect on our own experiences and place in the society. Until the titles on the shelves better reflect the experiences, stories and interests of possible readers, it might be extremely challenging to hold their attention.

Contemporary Storytelling and Consumer Interest

Naturally, some novelists are successfully crafting for the “contemporary interest”: the tweet-length style of certain recent books, the focused sections of different authors, and the brief chapters of numerous contemporary stories are all a excellent demonstration for a briefer form and technique. Additionally there is plenty of writing tips aimed at securing a reader: hone that opening line, enhance that opening chapter, elevate the stakes (more! higher!) and, if writing mystery, introduce a victim on the first page. That guidance is all sound – a prospective agent, publisher or audience will spend only a a handful of limited seconds choosing whether or not to continue. There's little reason in being obstinate, like the individual on a workshop I joined who, when challenged about the plot of their book, declared that “the meaning emerges about three-quarters of the way through”. No novelist should subject their reader through a series of challenges in order to be grasped.

Crafting to Be Understood and Granting Patience

But I do write to be comprehended, as much as that is feasible. At times that demands leading the consumer's attention, steering them through the plot step by succinct beat. Sometimes, I've understood, comprehension demands perseverance – and I must give me (as well as other writers) the freedom of wandering, of building, of digressing, until I discover something true. An influential thinker contends for the story discovering fresh structures and that, instead of the traditional dramatic arc, “different forms might help us envision novel methods to craft our tales vital and true, persist in creating our works fresh”.

Evolution of the Novel and Modern Formats

In that sense, both viewpoints align – the novel may have to evolve to suit the today's audience, as it has constantly achieved since it first emerged in the 18th century (in the form now). It could be, like previous authors, tomorrow's creators will revert to releasing in parts their works in periodicals. The future those creators may already be publishing their content, section by section, on web-based services such as those visited by countless of frequent readers. Art forms evolve with the period and we should allow them.

More Than Brief Focus

But let us not claim that any evolutions are completely because of shorter concentration. Were that true, brief fiction compilations and micro tales would be considered considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable