If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison
Despite what Charles Dickens may have told you, the best of times and the worst of times are right now. We have access to an unprecedented amount of information. At the touch of a button, we have almost instantaneous access to news and entertainment from any where in the world, past or present.
That's the good news.
The bad news, of course, is that we have almost instantaneous access to news and entertainment from any where in the world, past or present. The problem with this embarrassment of riches is that if we as writers want to be heard, we have much stiffer competition than Charles did.
Consider this: You have a bit of down time, say at the airport or on the train. What are your options? You could listen to music, check your e-mail, or play games on your phone. You can read newspapers via live feed from around the world. If you did decide to read something literary, you would probably give it a page, maybe, to grab your attention. Too much of a wind-up, and you are back to Angry Birds.
This is something we as writers have to keep in mind. The readers in our 21st Century literary world are characterized by media-induced attention deficits, which means we must drop very tasty bait into the goldfish bowl. If you want to grab the reader, do it quickly, or you won't do it at all.
