I have a complaint about storytelling, or actually, more of a demand: Authors, tell the story!

When I submitted my first book to an agent, she sent back a terse two sentences scrawled in the margin of my cover letter: "Spent too long on background. Get to the story." I did, she took the book on, and eventually, MACBETH'S NIECE was sold to a publisher.

I'm tired of a book starting with a bang that gets me interested and then stopping the action to go back for long scenes that explain the characters' lives and motivation. Yes, we want to get to know them, but no, it shouldn't come in large chunks that bring the action to a screaming halt.

The book I started last night began with an interesting family situation that ended in a screaming match between father and adult daughter. Okay, that happens. But the author then went back and took an in-depth look at each of these:

The protag's relationship with her best friend

The protag's relationship with her father

The protag's relationship with her brother

The protag's relationship with her dead mother

How the protag met and bonded with her fiance.

By the time that was over, I'd lost interest in how the family feud was going to turn out. 

I mostly blame editors for this. As authors, we get wrapped up in our characters and their motivations and go on about something that could be handled with a sentence. Someone needs to tell us, as my agent did, "Enough with the backstory. Move on." That doesn't happen much anymore, especially with big-name authors, who apparently aren't subject to much editing at all. (It slows down that book-a-year plan publishers need to make money from your name.) I also suspect there's padding going on, since there are guidelines about book length. Stories from a character's past can fill in a few hundred words, even if they don't contribute a thing to the plot.

Sad to say, we as readers must accept some blame too. When I read a book that has obvious flaws, such as the one just described, I always check the reviews. I'm amazed at how many people accept mediocre writing, even saying how wonderful the book was. Now I know tastes in reading differ widely, but come on. Did you really need five pages on Dead Mom to understand what the current fight is about?