If A Tree Falls In the Forest and No One Hears It, Then No One Gives A Shit

Like it or not, Fiction is in stiff competition with the visual mediums and virtual reality interactive gaming world for the attention of the general Audience. The difficulty in choice of writing style/tone is that there is a sizable discrepancy between the standards of academic and commercial literature. The key is finding the common ground. The trick is taking the attractive elements of both, and blending them creatively.

Television and movies have evolved from lengthy narrative shot and scenes, into today's smaller, measured intervals. Shots within scenes move quickly, sending out flashes of information or symbols to keep the observers attention engaged through the entire story. This is a MUST for Fiction writers as well. There is no appetite for unneccesary, poetic musings. It doesn't matter how pretty it is, because if a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears it, then no one gives a shit. Writing is not for the benefit of the writer, its for the reader, the observer. If a writer truly wants recognition for his role in the story, (which most do), then he must become a part of the story itself. A performer within the text for the amusement of the reader. He can choose to defend it with a philosophical undertone, but the fact remains, it is a consumer-dominated-consumer-controlled market.

As for the rise of the gaming population, what this tells us is that the Audience finds mere observation boring, tedious. It wishes to experience fantastic, pulsating stimuli beyound the limits of contrived fiction. They wish to create their own experience, and challenge themselves in following the narrative clues to completing their missions. The idea of tangible progress, work that breeds satisfaction of accomplishment is a rewarding motive.

It is not a hopeless cause, though it is a monumental task. Standing out to attract the attention of the Audience is one thing, keeping them engaged throughout is another matter. Skill must be developed in both regards, and to do so is to acknowledge the victories of the competition, which requires acceptance, humility, and death to pretentious work.