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It's a bit awkward to admit, but here goes. Five titles sit by my bed, every one partially consumed. Inside my mobile device, I'm some distance through thirty-six audio novels, which pales next to the 46 Kindle titles I've left unfinished on my digital device. That fails to account for the growing pile of early versions beside my side table, competing for praises, now that I work as a professional writer in my own right.

From Dogged Reading to Deliberate Abandonment

On the surface, these stats might look to support recent comments about today's concentration. A writer commented recently how easy it is to lose a reader's attention when it is divided by online networks and the 24-hour news. He stated: “Maybe as individuals' attention spans evolve the literature will have to adapt with them.” Yet as a person who once would stubbornly finish every book I started, I now consider it a individual choice to stop reading a novel that I'm not enjoying.

Our Finite Span and the Abundance of Possibilities

I don't believe that this tendency is a result of a limited focus – more accurately it stems from the feeling of life moving swiftly. I've often been affected by the Benedictine principle: “Hold mortality daily in mind.” One reminder that we each have a just limited time on this world was as horrifying to me as to everyone. And yet at what other time in human history have we ever had such instant availability to so many mind-blowing works of art, anytime we desire? A glut of treasures greets me in every library and within every screen, and I aim to be purposeful about where I direct my energy. Could “abandoning” a book (abbreviation in the book world for Unfinished) be not just a mark of a poor mind, but a discerning one?

Reading for Connection and Self-awareness

Especially at a time when publishing (and thus, selection) is still controlled by a specific demographic and its issues. Although reading about characters different from ourselves can help to develop the ability for empathy, we also choose books to reflect on our individual journeys and position in the universe. Until the books on the racks better depict the identities, realities and concerns of prospective audiences, it might be extremely hard to keep their focus.

Current Authorship and Consumer Interest

Of course, some authors are actually successfully crafting for the “modern attention span”: the concise style of certain recent books, the tight pieces of others, and the short chapters of numerous contemporary titles are all a impressive showcase for a briefer style and method. Furthermore there is an abundance of author advice aimed at grabbing a audience: refine that first sentence, polish that start, increase the drama (more! higher!) and, if creating crime, place a mystery on the first page. Such suggestions is completely good – a possible publisher, editor or reader will devote only a few limited seconds deciding whether or not to proceed. There's no benefit in being contrary, like the individual on a workshop I attended who, when questioned about the storyline of their manuscript, announced that “everything makes sense about three-fourths of the way through”. No novelist should subject their follower through a series of difficult tasks in order to be grasped.

Writing to Be Accessible and Allowing Space

But I absolutely write to be clear, as much as that is feasible. On occasion that demands leading the consumer's interest, steering them through the plot point by succinct point. Occasionally, I've realised, understanding demands time – and I must allow my own self (as well as other writers) the grace of meandering, of layering, of deviating, until I hit upon something authentic. A particular writer makes the case for the fiction developing fresh structures and that, as opposed to the standard narrative arc, “alternative structures might assist us imagine innovative approaches to create our narratives alive and true, keep producing our books novel”.

Transformation of the Novel and Current Mediums

Accordingly, the two perspectives converge – the fiction may have to change to fit the modern reader, as it has continually achieved since it began in the 18th century (in the form currently). Perhaps, like earlier novelists, coming creators will revert to publishing incrementally their books in newspapers. The next these authors may currently be sharing their content, part by part, on online platforms such as those accessed by millions of monthly users. Creative mediums shift with the times and we should let them.

Beyond Limited Concentration

But we should not say that any changes are all because of limited attention spans. If that was so, brief fiction collections and very short stories would be viewed much more {commercial|profitable|marketable