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This is slightly uncomfortable to reveal, but here goes. Five novels sit next to my bed, every one only partly read. Within my smartphone, I'm partway through 36 audio novels, which seems small next to the 46 Kindle titles I've set aside on my digital device. That doesn't include the growing stack of advance editions near my living room table, competing for endorsements, now that I have become a published author myself.

Starting with Persistent Reading to Deliberate Letting Go

On the surface, these figures might seem to confirm recently expressed comments about today's focus. An author observed a short while ago how easy it is to lose a reader's focus when it is scattered by social media and the 24-hour news. The author suggested: “It could be as individuals' focus periods shift the fiction will have to adapt with them.” However as a person who once would doggedly complete every book I started, I now view it a personal freedom to set aside a story that I'm not enjoying.

Our Limited Time and the Glut of Possibilities

I wouldn't think that this tendency is caused by a brief focus – more accurately it stems from the feeling of time passing quickly. I've consistently been struck by the monastic maxim: “Keep the end daily in view.” Another reminder that we each have a just finite period on this Earth was as shocking to me as to everyone. But at what previous moment in our past have we ever had such immediate entry to so many mind-blowing masterpieces, anytime we want? A glut of options greets me in each bookstore and within each screen, and I strive to be purposeful about where I channel my energy. Could “not finishing” a book (term in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be not just a sign of a poor intellect, but a thoughtful one?

Selecting for Understanding and Insight

Especially at a period when publishing (and therefore, selection) is still dominated by a particular social class and its issues. Even though reading about individuals unlike our own lives can help to build the ability for understanding, we furthermore read to consider our personal journeys and place in the society. Unless the titles on the shelves more accurately reflect the backgrounds, lives and interests of possible readers, it might be extremely challenging to hold their attention.

Modern Storytelling and Reader Engagement

Certainly, some writers are indeed skillfully creating for the “modern interest”: the tweet-length writing of some recent books, the focused pieces of additional writers, and the short chapters of various contemporary titles are all a excellent demonstration for a shorter form and style. And there is an abundance of writing tips designed for securing a consumer: perfect that first sentence, improve that beginning section, raise the stakes (further! further!) and, if crafting crime, introduce a victim on the first page. Such advice is entirely sound – a possible representative, house or audience will devote only a few limited moments determining whether or not to continue. There is little reason in being difficult, like the writer on a class I joined who, when confronted about the narrative of their novel, declared that “everything makes sense about three-fourths of the into the story”. No novelist should force their follower through a set of challenges in order to be grasped.

Crafting to Be Accessible and Allowing Space

And I absolutely write to be clear, as much as that is feasible. On occasion that requires guiding the reader's attention, guiding them through the plot beat by succinct step. Occasionally, I've discovered, comprehension requires time – and I must grant me (along with other creators) the grace of meandering, of building, of straying, until I find something meaningful. One writer makes the case for the fiction developing innovative patterns and that, instead of the traditional plot structure, “alternative structures might assist us conceive novel approaches to craft our narratives dynamic and real, keep producing our books novel”.

Transformation of the Novel and Current Platforms

From that perspective, both opinions agree – the story may have to change to accommodate the today's consumer, as it has repeatedly achieved since it originated in the 1700s (in its current incarnation now). It could be, like past writers, coming creators will return to publishing incrementally their books in periodicals. The future those writers may currently be releasing their writing, section by section, on web-based sites such as those visited by many of frequent visitors. Genres change with the period and we should allow them.

More Than Short Focus

However we should not say that every changes are all because of limited focus. If that was so, concise narrative collections and very short stories would be regarded far more {commercial|profitable|marketable