Deferred Gratification

[Peg Herring]

I had a professor at the U of M(ichigan...she hangs her head after Saturday's humiliation) who was always on about deferred gratification and how Americans had lost any grasp of it in modern times. It's hard to argue the point after seeing the newly touted sports channel that lets you "see every touchdown in every game" on a Sunday afternoon. Jump from game to game, just watching the highlights? How long would it take to be totally lost as to which team you were watching? And what's the attraction? The ability to brag at the office on Monday that you saw all the big plays, whether you cared or not?

Writers wrestle with fans' "need for speed" in getting into a plot or getting through a book. Murder comes on page one, paragraphs become chapters, and forget about character development or, God forbid, scenic description. Some blame Sesame Street and the thirty-second commercial; some the Internet with instant access. Whatever it is, there often seems to be no place in genre fiction for writers who choose a leisurely pace. Yet I know readers, lots of them, who are discerning, patient, and intelligent. I wonder just what is the mood of the everyday mystery reader: have we misjudged them, or do we really need to write like our chairs are on fire?