Every writer has to start somewhere. The first two novels I wrote were laden with back story. An editor at a small press agreed to read my sophomore effort and her feedback was less than complimentary. She said something to the effect of, "there was so much back story, I found myself skimming". Looking back, it was almost as if I'd wanted to write a different story than the actual one.
Too, I think when I first started writing I felt that
everything needed to be explained in minute detail. That's rather
disrespectful of the reader. And all it accomplishes is taking the
reader out of the current story, with no payoff.
The truth is, I simply didn't know how to write. I was a rookie. When you see an ad touting a "debut novel", all that means is that it's the first of the author's novels to get published, not that it's the first novel she ever wrote. An author has to be some kind of savant to get her very first effort trade published. I can't sit down at the piano today and compose a concerto. First of all, I don't even know how to play piano, so I'm guessing I would need to learn that first. Then, once I become proficient ~ I'm guessing a couple of days at the most ~ I would then need to learn how to write a concerto. Which means I'd have to study up on concertos, because while I think I've heard one by Beethoven, that might be the only one I'm familiar with. Or I could just pretend I wrote a concerto after only learning the piano two days ago and send it off to a world-famous conductor for inclusion in his next symphony concert. He will jump at the chance and marvel at my precocity. Much like a literary agent will do upon receiving pages from a neophyte writer.
Today I shy away from back story. Past details that are essential to the story are woven in organically; a few sentences, perhaps. At the most, one short paragraph.
I've never read science fiction in my life, but I read a lot on writer's forums about "world building" ~ how much to include, how to parse it out. Speaking of skimming, I'd be furiously flipping the digital pages. Technically, world building isn't the same as back story, but the outcomes are much the same ~ avoidance of getting to the meat. It may be intentional or it might be done out of a writer's insecurity.
How did I learn to kick my bad habit? Well, that kick in the pants by the afore-mentioned editor helped (once I got done pouting about it). I also deliberately look at every scene I write and ask myself if it's engaging or even necessary. I cast myself as a reader rather than someone in love with her own words.
Do I still fail sometimes? Oh yes. I posted a while back about unpublishing "Shadow Song" when I found myself appalled at the pages of history I'd included ~ completely unnecessary crap...about building a ferris wheel, for God's sake. I pulled up that sucker in Word and ripped all of it out. I think I left in one sentence about the guy who started the amusement park where the actual story is set. And for the life of me, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote all that. So yes, the temptation still creeps in from time to time. I find myself falling in love with an idea that only a crackpot would find interesting.
The number one way to cure oneself of a bad writing habit is to read the story dispassionately. A big red flag would be if you find yourself skimming those shiny passages you were so proud to write.
In future posts I'll detail even more of my bad writing habits. Yea, I've got more. But I'm getting better. That's, in fact, my final piece of advice. Simply write and write and write.
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