One of the things I had trouble with was interrupting action with characters' thoughts or brief flashbacks. John Gardner says to create a dream in the reader's mind's eye and avoid distracting from it. Analysis of the scene and flashbacks can be saved for downtime when nothing is happening in the story or when two people aren't having a conversation. Don't break the illusion of cohesiveness.
The Editor suggests leaving the background information of a character out of the first third of the book. Only reveal back story at key pivotal points in order to reveal something that will heighten the tension. To avoid making your reader feel like you've pulled this back story out of nowhere, you can foreshadow with hints along the way. Get your reader asking some questions.
For example, in my book, the reader might wonder why Matthew shutters at the thought of bringing in drug sniffing dogs and why he doesn't want his client to buy a watch dog. At the moment he meets up with Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding Hell, it can be revealed that his father was mauled to death by a dog when Matthew was young.
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