Books I Didn't Complete Reading Are Piling Up by My Bedside. Is It Possible That's a Good Thing?
It's somewhat embarrassing to admit, but here goes. A handful of titles wait by my bed, each only partly consumed. Inside my phone, I'm midway through 36 audio novels, which seems small next to the forty-six ebooks I've abandoned on my Kindle. That does not count the expanding pile of pre-release copies next to my side table, competing for endorsements, now that I work as a professional author in my own right.
From Determined Completion to Purposeful Abandonment
On the surface, these numbers might look to support recently expressed opinions about modern focus. A writer noted a short while ago how simple it is to break a reader's concentration when it is divided by social media and the news cycle. The author stated: “Maybe as people's concentration evolve the literature will have to adapt with them.” However as a person who once would persistently complete every title I began, I now regard it a personal freedom to stop reading a story that I'm not enjoying.
Our Finite Duration and the Wealth of Possibilities
I do not believe that this habit is caused by a brief attention span – more accurately it comes from the sense of existence passing quickly. I've often been struck by the spiritual teaching: “Place death each day in view.” A different idea that we each have a only limited time on this planet was as shocking to me as to everyone. But at what other time in history have we ever had such direct access to so many incredible masterpieces, whenever we choose? A wealth of treasures meets me in any bookshop and behind any device, and I strive to be intentional about where I direct my attention. Could “DNF-ing” a novel (shorthand in the book world for Incomplete) be rather than a mark of a weak focus, but a selective one?
Choosing for Understanding and Insight
Especially at a time when book production (and therefore, acquisition) is still led by a particular social class and its quandaries. Although engaging with about characters different from our own lives can help to develop the ability for understanding, we also select stories to consider our individual journeys and role in the society. Before the titles on the displays better reflect the backgrounds, lives and issues of possible readers, it might be extremely hard to maintain their focus.
Modern Storytelling and Reader Attention
Naturally, some authors are indeed effectively crafting for the “modern attention span”: the tweet-length writing of some modern books, the tight sections of others, and the brief sections of various contemporary titles are all a wonderful example for a shorter style and style. Additionally there is no shortage of craft guidance geared toward grabbing a reader: hone that first sentence, improve that start, elevate the tension (more! higher!) and, if writing mystery, introduce a victim on the first page. Such suggestions is entirely sound – a prospective representative, publisher or buyer will use only a few valuable minutes deciding whether or not to continue. There's no point in being obstinate, like the writer on a workshop I attended who, when confronted about the storyline of their book, announced that “everything makes sense about three-fourths of the way through”. No writer should put their audience through a set of challenges in order to be comprehended.
Crafting to Be Accessible and Giving Space
Yet I do compose to be understood, as far as that is achievable. Sometimes that needs guiding the reader's attention, steering them through the story point by succinct step. Sometimes, I've understood, insight demands patience – and I must give me (and other authors) the freedom of meandering, of layering, of digressing, until I discover something authentic. An influential writer contends for the novel developing new forms and that, rather than the traditional plot structure, “other structures might enable us envision novel approaches to create our tales dynamic and authentic, continue producing our works original”.
Transformation of the Novel and Contemporary Mediums
Accordingly, each opinions converge – the novel may have to adapt to suit the modern reader, as it has continually achieved since it first emerged in the 18th century (in the form today). It could be, like past authors, future creators will revert to releasing in parts their novels in publications. The future such creators may already be sharing their content, section by section, on web-based sites like those used by many of regular users. Art forms change with the times and we should permit them.
Beyond Limited Attention Spans
Yet we should not claim that every shifts are entirely because of limited concentration. If that were the case, brief fiction collections and very short stories would be considered considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable
