SHORT ATTENTION SPANS and your chapters' lengths_IWSG Post

 

Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister, and Westworld, had a passion project he’d been pursuing for years, ahead of his untimely passing in 2008.

Knowing how special it was, his wife, Sherri Crichton, held back his notes and the partial manuscript until she found the right author to complete it:

James Patterson, the world’s most popular storyteller.

Right Author?

Two-page chapters, tons of white space, and a 400 page book that's more like 200 pages.

But it got me to thinking ... attention spans aren't getting longer ...

Should we start making our chapters shorter to keep the attentions of our readers?

What to do?

1) Give them a sense of the road ahead

2) Learn from Strip Teasers ... don't disrobe your plot all at once.

3) Don't hoard your dynamite ... use all the good stuff while you can to keep them turning the pages.

“You have whole generations being trained for shorter attention spans than books require.” 

What do you think is a solution?