10 Common Short Story Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Every writer makes mistakes, especially in early drafts. The trick isn't to avoid them entirely — it's to recognize them so you can fix them in revision. Here are ten of the most common problems we see in short fiction, along with how to solve each one.

1. Starting Too Early

Many stories begin with backstory, scene-setting, or a character waking up before the actual story starts. Try deleting your first paragraph or two. If the story still makes sense, those paragraphs were preamble. Start where the tension starts.

2. The Info Dump

An info dump is when you stop the story to explain something: a character's history, how the world works, or why someone feels the way they do. Instead of explaining, find ways to reveal information through action and dialogue. Let the reader discover things naturally.

3. Too Many Characters

In a short story, every character needs to earn their place. If your 1,000-word story has six named characters, the reader won't remember any of them. Focus on one or two characters and make them vivid. Background characters can stay unnamed.

4. No Conflict

A story where nothing goes wrong isn't a story — it's a description. Your character needs to want something, and something needs to stand in their way. The conflict doesn't have to be dramatic. It can be as quiet as a person struggling to say what they mean at a family dinner.

5. Telling Instead of Showing

Writing "He was angry" is telling. Writing "He set his coffee cup down so hard that coffee sloshed over the rim" is showing. When you name an emotion directly, the reader registers the information but doesn't feel it. When you show the emotion through behavior and detail, the reader experiences it. (See our full guide: Show, Don't Tell.)

6. Cliché Descriptions

Eyes like the ocean. A heart that skipped a beat. Butterflies in the stomach. These phrases were vivid once, but they've been used so many times that they've lost all power. When you catch yourself writing a phrase you've heard before, pause and think of a fresher way to say it.

7. Unrealistic Dialogue

Real people don't speak in perfect sentences. They interrupt each other, trail off, change the subject, and avoid saying what they mean. If your dialogue sounds like a textbook, read it aloud and listen for where it feels stiff. Then rewrite those lines the way an actual person would talk.

8. Over-Explaining the Ending

After the climax of the story, many writers keep going — adding a paragraph that explains what happened, what it meant, or how the character felt about it. Trust the reader. If your story is well-written, the ending will land without an explanation. Cut the last paragraph and see if the story is stronger.

9. Inconsistent Point of View

If you start your story in first person ("I walked into the room"), stay in first person. If you start in third person limited ("She walked into the room"), don't suddenly reveal what another character is thinking. POV shifts are jarring and confuse the reader.

10. Not Reading It Aloud

This one shows up in almost every list because it really is that important. Reading your story aloud catches problems that your eyes will glide right over: awkward rhythm, repeated words, sentences that are too long, and dialogue that sounds wrong. If you only do one editing step, make it this one.