Why the Novel Still Matters
There are two big arguments for why the novel, as we know it, is dying.
1) People are spending less time with fiction, and with books. We’re opting for small bites, like blog posts, and socially-recommended reading.
2) Linear written stories are being downplayed thanks to new technology that creates interactive, multimedia-aided storytelling.
But those things don’t matter. Yes, we are on the Internet more than we read books. Yes, people are trying all kinds of cute iBook gimmicks. But the straight-forward, no frills novel is still one of the most powerful objects out there.
Novels have the power to make us do all kinds of things. Take a road trip. Try cocaine. Listen to The Smiths. Study Jungian archetypes.
They help us understand things we would never otherwise think about. Why little kids might go mute. Why a man might kill a bunch of people.
Most importantly, they’re escapism. We can get away from the world and pretend we are someone else for awhile, while laying around in our underwear in our beds.
Unlike movies, novels are easy for anyone to create. You just need words, and the reader’s mind does the set production.
As a writer, I still don’t think I’ll be satisfied with myself until I write a novel. To me, it’s the touchstone of a writing career, and the point when you start to be taken seriously.
Even though writing a bestselling novel might not make you as rich as it used to, the glamor is still there. The publishing houses just need to not give up hope (or require as much money).
