Works I Haven't Finished Enjoying Are Piling Up by My Nightstand. Could It Be That's a Benefit?
This is slightly embarrassing to admit, but I'll say it. A handful of titles wait by my bed, each partially consumed. Inside my smartphone, I'm partway through 36 audiobooks, which seems small alongside the forty-six Kindle titles I've set aside on my digital device. That fails to account for the expanding collection of advance versions near my coffee table, vying for praises, now that I have become a published writer in my own right.
From Persistent Reading to Deliberate Abandonment
At first glance, these stats might seem to corroborate contemporary thoughts about today's attention spans. A writer observed a short while ago how easy it is to break a reader's focus when it is divided by digital platforms and the 24-hour news. The author suggested: “It could be as individuals' focus periods change the fiction will have to change with them.” Yet as an individual who once would persistently finish every book I started, I now consider it a individual choice to put down a story that I'm not in the mood for.
Our Limited Time and the Glut of Options
I wouldn't think that this habit is caused by a short attention span – more accurately it comes from the awareness of existence passing quickly. I've always been impressed by the monastic maxim: “Hold death daily in mind.” Another reminder that we each have a only limited time on this Earth was as sobering to me as to anyone else. But at what previous point in our past have we ever had such immediate entry to so many amazing creative works, at any moment we desire? A wealth of treasures awaits me in every bookshop and behind each device, and I strive to be purposeful about where I direct my energy. Might “DNF-ing” a book (abbreviation in the book world for Unfinished) be rather than a sign of a limited focus, but a thoughtful one?
Selecting for Empathy and Self-awareness
Especially at a period when book production (and thus, acquisition) is still controlled by a certain demographic and its concerns. Although reading about individuals distinct from ourselves can help to build the capacity for understanding, we furthermore read to consider our own lives and role in the society. Until the titles on the racks better represent the identities, stories and issues of possible individuals, it might be quite hard to keep their focus.
Contemporary Writing and Consumer Attention
Naturally, some writers are actually successfully writing for the “today's interest”: the tweet-length style of certain current novels, the focused fragments of different authors, and the brief sections of several contemporary titles are all a excellent demonstration for a more concise style and style. Furthermore there is an abundance of author tips aimed at securing a audience: refine that opening line, improve that opening chapter, increase the stakes (higher! higher!) and, if writing thriller, place a dead body on the opening. Such guidance is entirely solid – a possible agent, editor or reader will use only a few limited minutes choosing whether or not to proceed. It is no point in being obstinate, like the individual on a writing course I participated in who, when challenged about the storyline of their manuscript, declared that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the through the book”. No novelist should subject their audience through a series of 12 labours in order to be grasped.
Writing to Be Understood and Allowing Space
Yet I do compose to be understood, as far as that is possible. On occasion that requires leading the audience's hand, guiding them through the plot beat by efficient step. Occasionally, I've discovered, understanding takes time – and I must give myself (along with other authors) the permission of wandering, of building, of straying, until I find something true. One author argues for the story discovering innovative patterns and that, as opposed to the conventional plot structure, “alternative patterns might assist us imagine new ways to craft our narratives dynamic and true, persist in producing our novels fresh”.
Transformation of the Novel and Contemporary Mediums
From that perspective, the two perspectives converge – the fiction may have to change to fit the contemporary audience, as it has repeatedly achieved since it first emerged in the 18th century (in its current incarnation today). It could be, like past authors, tomorrow's authors will revert to publishing incrementally their works in periodicals. The future these authors may currently be publishing their writing, section by section, on digital platforms like those used by many of frequent readers. Genres shift with the period and we should allow them.
Beyond Limited Concentration
But do not claim that any changes are all because of reduced focus. If that were the case, concise narrative compilations and very short stories would be viewed considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable