Ten Common Faults in Short Story Writing

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The short story is often but not always a moment in time crystallising a short chain of events. Occasionally it is a little longer, but it rarely has the layering of plot one gets in a novel or a novella. It is one of the easiest forms to get wrong.

The following list of faults is in order. The most common one is at the top.

1 THE RESOLUTION

The resolution may come too easily or may be too dramatic. Beware the “deus ex machina”. This incidentally is also a common fault in novels, novellas and screenplays.

2 TOO MUCH PLOT

The story may be too convoluted. It may have too much plot. The story becomes more of a synopsis for a novel. One of my writer friends actually sent an adult short story to a sympathetic editor who coaxed her into turning it into a novel for children. A series developed on the back of that. Nice but very unusual outcome.    

3 TOO MANY CHARACTERS

This often arises because of 2. In a short story, you certainly need no more than two to three main characters and few, if any, background characters.

4 CHARACTERS NOT DEVELOPED ENOUGH

This comes partly from 3. If you have too many characters you haven’t got enough word count to develop them properly. It can also happen if you don’t know your characters well enough. You actually have to know them as well as you would for a 100,000 word novel.                  

5 NO PLOT

The work is well crafted. We can all enjoy the prose. Yet we’re left feeling disappointed because actually nothing happens. There’s a world of difference between being open-ended and not having a structure.

6 YOU’RE TELLING NOT SHOWING

That old chestnut. It’s a common fault everywhere. Yet is seems worse in a short story. There is a perception that you have to cram everything into a few words. If anything, there’s a greater need to bring your reader right into the moment.

7 YOUR DIALOGUE IS TOO REALISTIC  

Most dialogue is actually very boring. Only use what you need. It must show character, create atmosphere or drive the plot forward. It’s best if it does all three at once. Especially in a short story.      

8 YOUR DIALOGUE IS NOT NATURAL

This may seem to contradict 7.  Not really. It’s more important than ever in a short story that each piece of dialogue accurately portrays the speaker’s voice.

9 YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SET OUT DIALOGUE

It looks so unprofessional and really shows up in the short story. It’s so easy to get right.  

10 YOUR OPENING IS TOO LONG

(and your ending is too rushed)

This really goes hand in hand with 1. You often need to cut out the first  two or three paragraphs of a short story – and incidentally the first chapter or so of a novel. You, the writer, needs them to get you into the story – your reader doesn’t.