Desk Notes #1: Commentary on Contemporary Writing

How the digital writing is changing the landscape to the tune of irreversibility

Welcome one and all to the first edition of Desk Notes, a weekly commentary column on writing, technology, and human behaviour. This goes out every Wednesday.

In this issue we will discuss the contemporary writing landscape, how it has impacted the readers, what is the way forward from here, and much more on the topic.

(There are no headings or sub-heads, so sit back, relax and let’s explore together. I hope we’re on the same page now.)

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

Remember when you were a little kid and every time you’d go outside to play, you were overwhelmed with a million different questions of mild to extreme inquisitiveness? From the small details of how the steering functioned and how the wheels worked in sync to make a perfect turn to how long it took to hear the sound of the thunder whose lightning you just saw.

You were curious about the slightest of details because you were present. What happens when we grow up? We get used to everything that’s happening in our surroundings. You learn to drive; now you can drive while having a chat with the person sitting in the passenger’s seat. You have a plausible explanation of every occurrence, and if you don’t, you aren’t interested in knowing it, anyway.

Writing and reading are one such aspect. We’re grown-ups and couldn’t care less about how and why of it. How has it changed and why that is good or bad? Through the lens of time, it appears to be losing its significance, changing its form and abandoning the ethos like a snake abandons its scales.

But on a careful observation, it becomes apparent that though some of that might be true, not all of them are. It can change its form, but how are we going to judge whether it is losing its significance? In the wake of modern-day writing, it is meant to be fast-paced, skimmable, less thought-provoking, and more rewarding.

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It has changed forms to come to a place that it—the contemporary writing—is in. Readers are impatient and writers are eager to deliver “value.” The mathematics fits perfectly to constitute an illusion of understanding through surface-level contact with the topic. Oh, and then, there are add-ons! No one is in the Elizabethan era of literature, and time is too short to sit and write a masterpiece. We sell services; we sell comfort. We sell an illusion of everything-figured-out-ery.

It’s less excruciating and more mainstream, isn’t it? Short sentences, catchy titles, provoking narratives, and attractive call-to-action buttons. That is the perfect recipe to craft a contemporary piece of writing. You are rewarded for your time with a feeling of contentment, as it has always been. But the effort to reward has changed significantly and for the worse.

With the dwindling attention span, this change is the most logical way forward: short paragraphs and less depth but more value per word. More value, because there is less to interpret. I mused about that relationship for a while, then realised that it was the farthest I could go on assigning the terms a notational value. When I mention value, I refer to perceived value rather than intrinsic value.

There still are books in the market, and it’s not only about reading on the Internet. Still. Maybe it’s about time. But our reading behaviours are undergoing a steady shift.

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A study investigated the impact of digital reading on reading patterns and comprehension. The research suggests that people tend to scan or skim more when reading online than a traditional, linear reading style with print. This can affect comprehension, particularly for details, compared to understanding the text’s overall structure.

The results of the study should surprise no one. We are all victims—in a way, but you may disagree with me on this—of the digital renaissance in the reading sphere. When one value changes in a dependent variable equation, the other one is bound to change. Such is the case with reading and writing. If a reader’s taste preference changes, writers have to change accordingly.

To conclude, I must say, you as a writer should keep a keen eye on your reader’s needs. Though you should also preserve and make your style detail-oriented, you should not leave your readers clueless. Try out different stuff. You can’t perfect your craft in isolation like the Bronte sisters and give a masterpiece to the world all at once. You should be a constant performer, an artiste, and do something creative and unique every single time.