I started a new book last night. (Reading one, that is, not writing one.)

To begin with, all was well. I liked the sound of the plot (from the back cover blurb). I liked the sound of the main character (from skimming the first few pages). So I settled in for a good read.

But after a dozen or so pages, I found myself skipping over paragraphs. Then skipping over pages.

Being a writer and a writing tutor, I stopped to analyse why I was doing this. In a word: PACING.

The author was continually going down side paths exploring the character’s backstory. Worse, she shifted viewpoint to another character at the end of the first chapter (not a sin in itself, of course) just when the main character had a big turning point coming up. Often, this is an excellent strategy to increase the suspense. In this case, it was frustrating – BECAUSE she kept going down those side paths, telling me every little thing that had happened to Character 2 to bring him to this point. Meanwhile, I still wanted to know what Character 1 was going to do… so I turned over about a dozen pages to find out.

What happened then? Just as the main character was setting off to the venue where she was going to meet someone important and make a big decision, we had even MORE backstory.

Too much, in fact. I closed the book, turned out the light, and reflected on what I’d just experienced. I probably won’t re-open the book. A pity, because it had the making of a good story. It was just too slow… I didn’t need to know the character’s past in such detail.

A salutory lesson for all writers.

Tags: backstory,Technique
Categories: Plotting Your Story, Technique
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