Modern Writing and Attention Spans

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[ChristophersRants]

Even book criticism has devolved into judging the author and not the work.

[clintmatthews]

I think the biggest problem is believing there's one right way to write every story.

[timothyreynolds]

Art is not Content. A novel is not a short story.

[crunchie]

In Lord of the Rings they don’t even leave the Shire for the first 100 pages and I love it

[KatallinaVT]

I think what we're talking about here is the distinction of what it takes to write a best seller vs. to write a novel with artistic integrity. To make anything a best seller in today's world, in general, you have to find the mold the thing you're trying to sell uses and you need to pour your version into that mold, bake it, and then take it out.

If you are going to do things that are new and daring, or even just in your own way, it's much harder for that thing to become a best seller BECAUSE the companies who represent things want them packaged in certain ways. We haven't had a legitimately 'big' Christmas song, outside of All I Want For Christmas Is You since the 50s. Things stagnate and become complacent.

That said, if you somehow become the new new, you'll just find a bunch of people trying to clone you.

Write your book. That's my advice. Good luck.

[ineptgamer]

You're absolutely correct about this. If you have to hook a reader or viewer with high action from the outset, then maybe the audience is the problem.

[thedarkknight]

A novel brought back in time from the 2030's...
"There was this man, he became a woman, walked out into the woods, slipped, hit her head and died. The end". 😒

[KevvoLightswift]

As a fellow writer who has written two novels, Dave, I'm excited to learn that I'm not the only one who thinks short attention span is an audience problem. You've encouraged me to keep going. My first novel is action packed, second one is a slow burn. But that's partly because the scope of both stories are different. I look forward to reading your first book when released!

[DanAdlingtonOnline]

I don't like Stephen King as a person but he always managed to create characters you wanted to follow in their journey. I think that's part of the battle to hold interest. Great characters.

[aj.j]

This is why I like how Japanese distinguish between novels. You got light novels that is short, easy to read and grabs your attention from the get go. Then you got regular novels are deeper and slower paced.

[mr.zardoz]

What you described worked for The Davinci Code, but not The Hobbit or LOTR. Countless classics start slowly and methodically. I'm glad you're writing.

[FairyTalesAgain_]

I practically wrote a whole essay of my own between pausing this video because I had so many thoughts about it! I agree with everything you said, and here is just one thing out of all I wrote that I want to share: If you make all books, all authors, follow the same pacing rules, you will lose all distinction between writers. Isaac Asimov is entirely distinct from C.S. Lewis, who is entirely distinct from Jane Austen, who is entirely distinct from Jules Vern, who is entirely distinct from Charles Dickens, who is entirely distinct from Homer. You don’t become a great author by sounding exactly like everyone else. No one will ever remember your name.

[josephfisher]

Screwball comedies were perfect for short/no attention spans, and were excellently written.

[HrtLikeDavid]

I'm finding myself writing my own story due to the utter lack of anything substantive coming out of the entertainment industry these days. A story with traditional morals, character archetypes, and themes that have all but disappeared in today's post-modern, corporatized world. Write the story YOU want to read, not what others think you SHOULD write.

[luxlife]

Seems to me some people confuse wanting to write a great novel with how to write a bestseller. Sadly, in this dumb-downed day and age, I'm not so certain those 2 things can intersect.
So, I believe you're absolutely right, create a compelling well thought out story and there's a good chance you'll find an audience even if it's a not NY times bestseller {not that it couldn't be) it's just that often now one can have some success with an intelligent, yet niche audience.

[aaronbinns]

I'd love to read your novel when it comes out. Always keen to explore new authors and new creations. I hope it's available and affordable in the antipodes when complete.

[cmedtheuniverseofcmed]

As a person who's written over twenty books, I would say that it depends on whether it's always a good idea to start your book in the middle of an action sequence or not. My first book did this, while others generally wouldn't. It depends on the story and what's happening.

However, as I've gained more experience, I have generally found that removing the fat is more important. If something is overly redundant, trim it out. I generally have the rule "No More than Two." If the concept/message being sent across in the story, whether by narrative or character, is said once or twice in the book, then you don't need to say it again. The audience understands it and doesn't need to be reminded of it over and over again. This also keeps the book more concise and helps eliminate production costs, as well as making it cheaper for print on demand. Better for you and better for the audience. :)

[DarthBalsamic]

I appreciate that you did this video. I have noticed for some time now that this sort of shoddy quick-paced writing that appeals to short attention spans, is rampant. It also extends to TV series. I've seen people not like shows or books simply because they had to unfold and not give them answers or resolutions right away. Every book or show I've ever liked and appreciated always took their time and were serious about the details.
Much of the reason why I think alot of slop is ubiquitous in this day and that alot of people like it, or even tolerate it, is because they've lost the ability to appreciate the development of stories and themes. I've never read Homer's Odysee, for example, and I'm reading it now. It's amazing to read because of how it develops. Just my two cents.

[BBBY-]

I think there's definitely something to be said about the prevalence of snarky responses like "too long, didn't read" or complaints about "walls of text" popping up in online discussions for the past few years. It seems to me that most don't even have the attention spawn to listen to each other in a conversation anymore, everyone always tries to interrupt each other or has a comment ready before you can even finish a sentence.

[Yesica]

Congratulations! And a hearty AMEN to everything you've said here. I am mid 50s, GenX. I've been online in some for or other since around 1999 when I got my first home computer. Through the years, I have watched my own attention span shrink away to nearly nothing. I'm a huge reader. But even I have seen how it's harder and harder for me to lasso my mind to concentrate on the words on the page. Once I get into it, I'm fine. But I have to fight this distracted mentality more and more each day. For a long time I thought I was imagining it. But I have even timed myself by watching random videos and seeing how long I can go before I feel my mind wandering and my fingers itching to click on another tab. It used to be about 2 minutes. And that was years ago. I'm sure it's down to less than a minute these days. I don't even want to try it again because it's disturbing. We are all being driven crazy this way. Please DO NOT pander to it. We need to be helping people increase their attention spans, not continue to feed this problem.