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It's somewhat awkward to admit, but let me explain. A handful of books rest by my bed, all only partly read. Within my mobile device, I'm partway through over three dozen audiobooks, which looks minor compared to the forty-six Kindle titles I've left unfinished on my digital device. That doesn't count the growing collection of advance copies beside my coffee table, competing for praises, now that I work as a professional author personally.

From Persistent Completion to Deliberate Abandonment

Initially, these figures might look to corroborate recent thoughts about current concentration. An author observed a short while ago how easy it is to break a individual's concentration when it is divided by social media and the news cycle. The author stated: “Perhaps as people's attention spans shift the literature will have to adapt with them.” But as an individual who previously would doggedly finish every title I began, I now consider it a human right to stop reading a story that I'm not connecting with.

Life's Short Time and the Glut of Possibilities

I don't feel that this practice is caused by a short focus – rather more it stems from the sense of life slipping through my fingers. I've always been impressed by the spiritual principle: “Place death every day before your eyes.” Another idea that we each have a just 4,000 weeks on this Earth was as sobering to me as to others. But at what previous time in human history have we ever had such immediate access to so many incredible masterpieces, at any moment we desire? A glut of riches meets me in each bookshop and behind every device, and I strive to be purposeful about where I channel my time. Could “DNF-ing” a book (shorthand in the publishing industry for Incomplete) be rather than a indication of a poor mind, but a selective one?

Selecting for Connection and Self-awareness

Especially at a period when the industry (and thus, acquisition) is still led by a particular demographic and its quandaries. While reading about characters distinct from us can help to develop the ability for empathy, we furthermore select stories to reflect on our individual lives and role in the universe. Unless the titles on the racks more accurately represent the backgrounds, realities and issues of potential audiences, it might be very challenging to keep their interest.

Modern Writing and Reader Interest

Naturally, some authors are effectively creating for the “today's attention span”: the tweet-length writing of some modern novels, the focused fragments of additional writers, and the quick parts of various recent titles are all a wonderful demonstration for a more concise form and technique. And there is an abundance of craft tips designed for grabbing a reader: perfect that opening line, enhance that opening chapter, increase the drama (further! further!) and, if creating mystery, put a mystery on the opening. Such suggestions is completely good – a prospective publisher, house or buyer will use only a several precious minutes deciding whether or not to continue. It is no benefit in being obstinate, like the person on a workshop I joined who, when challenged about the plot of their manuscript, announced that “it all becomes clear about three-fourths of the into the story”. Not a single writer should put their follower through a set of challenges in order to be understood.

Writing to Be Understood and Giving Space

Yet I certainly write to be comprehended, as far as that is achievable. On occasion that requires guiding the consumer's interest, directing them through the narrative beat by efficient step. Occasionally, I've realised, comprehension requires time – and I must give me (along with other creators) the grace of wandering, of building, of straying, until I discover something meaningful. A particular thinker makes the case for the novel finding fresh structures and that, instead of the traditional dramatic arc, “alternative patterns might help us conceive new ways to make our stories alive and real, keep creating our books original”.

Change of the Story and Current Platforms

In that sense, both viewpoints agree – the fiction may have to change to fit the modern audience, as it has continually done since it originated in the 1700s (as we know it now). Maybe, like past authors, future creators will revert to serialising their works in newspapers. The next such authors may already be releasing their content, section by section, on online services such as those visited by millions of regular visitors. Creative mediums evolve with the times and we should let them.

Beyond Limited Focus

Yet let us not assert that all changes are all because of limited attention spans. Were that true, brief fiction collections and micro tales would be regarded considerably more {commercial|profitable|marketable