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It's a bit awkward to reveal, but here goes. Five books sit beside my bed, every one only partly finished. Within my mobile device, I'm midway through over three dozen audio novels, which pales alongside the 46 Kindle titles I've abandoned on my digital device. This fails to include the expanding stack of pre-release versions beside my side table, vying for endorsements, now that I am a established writer myself.

From Determined Finishing to Deliberate Setting Aside

Initially, these numbers might seem to confirm recently expressed thoughts about modern attention spans. An author commented a short while ago how effortless it is to break a person's attention when it is fragmented by digital platforms and the 24-hour news. The author remarked: “It could be as readers' focus periods change the writing will have to change with them.” However as someone who used to doggedly finish any title I picked up, I now regard it a human right to put down a novel that I'm not in the mood for.

The Short Duration and the Glut of Possibilities

I don't think that this habit is caused by a limited attention span – more accurately it stems from the sense of existence moving swiftly. I've always been impressed by the Benedictine teaching: “Hold the end every day in mind.” One reminder that we each have a just finite period on this world was as shocking to me as to everyone. However at what previous point in history have we ever had such instant entry to so many amazing creative works, at any moment we want? A surplus of treasures meets me in any library and within any digital platform, and I want to be purposeful about where I channel my time. Is it possible “not finishing” a book (abbreviation in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be rather than a sign of a weak focus, but a thoughtful one?

Choosing for Connection and Reflection

Especially at a era when the industry (consequently, acquisition) is still dominated by a particular group and its quandaries. Even though exploring about people distinct from our own lives can help to develop the capacity for empathy, we furthermore select stories to think about our individual journeys and place in the world. Before the titles on the shelves more fully reflect the backgrounds, stories and concerns of potential individuals, it might be very hard to hold their attention.

Contemporary Storytelling and Audience Attention

Naturally, some writers are skillfully crafting for the “modern attention span”: the short prose of certain recent novels, the focused pieces of different authors, and the brief sections of numerous contemporary stories are all a impressive example for a more concise form and style. Additionally there is no shortage of author guidance aimed at securing a reader: hone that first sentence, improve that beginning section, elevate the tension (more! higher!) and, if writing crime, put a victim on the opening. Such guidance is entirely sound – a possible agent, house or audience will use only a a handful of precious seconds deciding whether or not to forge ahead. There's no benefit in being contrary, like the individual on a writing course I participated in who, when questioned about the storyline of their book, announced that “it all becomes clear about three-fourths of the way through”. Not a single writer should force their audience through a series of 12 labours in order to be understood.

Crafting to Be Accessible and Giving Space

And I absolutely compose to be understood, as far as that is feasible. On occasion that needs leading the audience's hand, steering them through the plot step by efficient step. Occasionally, I've understood, insight demands patience – and I must allow my own self (and other creators) the freedom of meandering, of building, of digressing, until I discover something meaningful. A particular author argues for the story discovering new forms and that, as opposed to the conventional dramatic arc, “other patterns might assist us imagine new methods to craft our stories dynamic and authentic, keep producing our works novel”.

Change of the Story and Current Mediums

In that sense, the two viewpoints agree – the novel may have to evolve to accommodate the modern consumer, as it has repeatedly done since it originated in the 18th century (in its current incarnation now). It could be, like earlier novelists, tomorrow's creators will go back to releasing in parts their works in publications. The future those writers may even now be sharing their work, section by section, on online platforms like those used by many of regular visitors. Art forms change with the era and we should let them.

Beyond Short Focus

Yet do not claim that any evolutions are entirely because of shorter attention spans. If that was so, concise narrative compilations and very short stories would be regarded far more {commercial|profitable|marketable