I think that's the best writing advice I've ever heard. I was reading a review of Jonathan Franzen's book 'Freedom'. I have no idea if it is as good as the reviewer is saying. However, the reviewer gave it what I consider very high praise, it's never boring.
If you think about it, the Thriller genre gets a lot of (justified) criticism for thin characters and unrealistic plots. Thrillers, however, are never boring. In fact, most of these 300+ page books get devoured in one sitting. Of course, they're usually forgotten just as fast, but that aside, the reader finishes the book. They aren't bored by it. They're carried along by the plot and pacing.
I'm going to paraphrase the Jonathan Franzen reviewer here and chime in. It's not enough to 'show and not tell', it's not enough to write beautiful sentences or to create vivid descriptions. It's not enough to write meaningful studies of important issues. It's not even enough to write fully realized characters. You have to tell and interesting story. You can't be boring.
Good food for thought. There are two sections in Angel Odyssey where my wife said she was bored. Those are red flags. I need to look at those chapters and cut or fertilize as needed to keep the reader entertained.
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