Books I Abandoned Reading Are Stacking by My Bed. Could It Be That's a Benefit?
This is somewhat embarrassing to reveal, but here goes. A handful of titles rest next to my bed, each only partly consumed. On my phone, I'm midway through 36 listening titles, which pales compared to the forty-six ebooks I've set aside on my Kindle. This does not account for the increasing pile of advance editions next to my living room table, vying for blurbs, now that I have become a published author personally.
Beginning with Dogged Completion to Deliberate Setting Aside
On the surface, these numbers might appear to corroborate recently expressed comments about current focus. An author commented recently how effortless it is to lose a person's concentration when it is divided by social media and the constant updates. He suggested: “Perhaps as individuals' concentration change the literature will have to adjust with them.” But as someone who once would persistently finish any title I picked up, I now regard it a individual choice to stop reading a story that I'm not enjoying.
Life's Limited Duration and the Wealth of Options
I do not think that this habit is due to a short focus – rather more it stems from the sense of time passing quickly. I've consistently been struck by the Benedictine teaching: “Place death each day in mind.” Another reminder that we each have a just limited time on this planet was as sobering to me as to anyone else. But at what other moment in history have we ever had such instant access to so many amazing works of art, anytime we want? A surplus of options meets me in any library and behind each digital platform, and I strive to be intentional about where I direct my energy. Could “abandoning” a story (term in the publishing industry for Did Not Finish) be not just a indication of a weak focus, but a thoughtful one?
Selecting for Understanding and Insight
Especially at a era when book production (and therefore, selection) is still dominated by a certain demographic and its issues. Even though engaging with about characters unlike ourselves can help to build the capacity for compassion, we also select stories to consider our personal experiences and role in the universe. Before the works on the shelves better depict the identities, lives and concerns of possible readers, it might be very challenging to hold their interest.
Modern Storytelling and Consumer Attention
Certainly, some novelists are actually skillfully writing for the “contemporary attention span”: the short style of certain modern books, the tight sections of different authors, and the short sections of various contemporary titles are all a excellent showcase for a shorter form and technique. Furthermore there is no shortage of author tips aimed at capturing a audience: perfect that opening line, improve that beginning section, elevate the stakes (more! higher!) and, if creating crime, introduce a victim on the first page. That suggestions is all solid – a possible agent, editor or buyer will use only a few precious seconds deciding whether or not to proceed. There's little reason in being difficult, like the writer on a workshop I attended who, when challenged about the plot of their novel, announced that “it all becomes clear about 75% of the way through”. Not a single writer should put their follower through a series of challenges in order to be comprehended.
Creating to Be Accessible and Granting Time
And I absolutely write to be comprehended, as to the extent as that is feasible. Sometimes that requires holding the audience's attention, steering them through the story beat by economical step. Occasionally, I've realised, insight takes time – and I must give me (as well as other creators) the permission of meandering, of layering, of straying, until I discover something true. One thinker argues for the novel developing fresh structures and that, as opposed to the conventional dramatic arc, “different structures might assist us envision new ways to make our stories dynamic and real, keep producing our novels fresh”.
Change of the Novel and Modern Mediums
From that perspective, both opinions agree – the story may have to evolve to fit the modern audience, as it has constantly achieved since it began in the 1700s (in its current incarnation today). Perhaps, like past writers, tomorrow's authors will go back to publishing incrementally their books in periodicals. The next such writers may already be releasing their work, section by section, on web-based services like those visited by millions of monthly visitors. Art forms shift with the period and we should let them.
Not Just Brief Attention Spans
Yet we should not say that every evolutions are all because of shorter concentration. If that were the case, short story compilations and micro tales would be viewed much more {commercial|profitable|marketable
