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It's a bit embarrassing to confess, but here goes. Several novels rest beside my bed, every one partially finished. Within my phone, I'm partway through over three dozen audio novels, which pales next to the forty-six Kindle titles I've abandoned on my e-reader. This doesn't count the growing stack of early versions near my side table, striving for praises, now that I am a established novelist myself.

From Determined Finishing to Intentional Abandonment

On the surface, these stats might look to confirm recently expressed opinions about current focus. A writer commented not long back how easy it is to break a reader's attention when it is divided by digital platforms and the constant updates. He remarked: “It could be as readers' attention spans change the writing will have to adjust with them.” However as an individual who once would stubbornly complete any title I started, I now regard it a individual choice to stop reading a story that I'm not in the mood for.

The Limited Span and the Abundance of Possibilities

I wouldn't feel that this practice is a result of a short concentration – instead it comes from the sense of time moving swiftly. I've consistently been struck by the Benedictine principle: “Place death every day in mind.” One reminder that we each have a just finite period on this world was as sobering to me as to everyone. However at what different moment in history have we ever had such instant access to so many amazing creative works, anytime we want? A wealth of options greets me in every bookstore and behind every device, and I aim to be purposeful about where I channel my time. Is it possible “abandoning” a book (abbreviation in the literary community for Did Not Finish) be not just a sign of a weak intellect, but a selective one?

Reading for Understanding and Self-awareness

Particularly at a era when book production (and therefore, commissioning) is still dominated by a particular social class and its quandaries. While engaging with about individuals unlike our own lives can help to build the capacity for understanding, we also read to consider our individual lives and role in the world. Until the titles on the shelves more accurately represent the backgrounds, realities and concerns of prospective audiences, it might be quite hard to hold their focus.

Contemporary Writing and Reader Attention

Certainly, some novelists are effectively writing for the “contemporary interest”: the concise writing of certain recent works, the tight fragments of others, and the short sections of several modern stories are all a excellent example for a shorter approach and method. Additionally there is an abundance of writing tips geared toward grabbing a consumer: hone that first sentence, enhance that opening chapter, increase the stakes (further! more!) and, if creating crime, introduce a victim on the beginning. Such guidance is entirely solid – a prospective publisher, editor or audience will use only a few precious moments deciding whether or not to proceed. There is no benefit in being obstinate, like the person on a workshop I attended who, when confronted about the storyline of their manuscript, announced that “everything makes sense about three-quarters of the into the story”. No writer should put their reader through a set of 12 labours in order to be understood.

Creating to Be Clear and Giving Space

And I do create to be understood, as far as that is feasible. Sometimes that needs leading the consumer's interest, directing them through the plot step by economical step. Sometimes, I've realised, insight takes time – and I must give me (along with other authors) the freedom of exploring, of adding depth, of digressing, until I find something true. A particular writer contends for the novel discovering innovative patterns and that, rather than the traditional plot structure, “alternative patterns might assist us imagine novel ways to make our narratives alive and authentic, keep producing our novels fresh”.

Change of the Story and Current Platforms

In that sense, each perspectives align – the story may have to evolve to accommodate the modern reader, as it has repeatedly achieved since it first emerged in the 1700s (in the form now). Perhaps, like past writers, tomorrow's writers will go back to publishing incrementally their novels in publications. The upcoming these authors may already be sharing their content, part by part, on online platforms including those accessed by countless of regular readers. Creative mediums change with the times and we should let them.

Beyond Brief Focus

But we should not claim that every evolutions are entirely because of shorter focus. Were that true, brief fiction collections and flash fiction would be regarded far more {commercial|profitable|marketable