As I work on editing several short stories, I find that with many of them, I spend too much time with the set-up rather than getting to the essence of the story.
To the former journalist in me, this is anathema.
”Cut to the chase,” I used to tell a former staffer who tended to spend a long time with her windup before she pitched her idea. I would get antsy waiting for it, and my mind would wander off, thinking about a dozen other projects and worries.
Consider our harried readers. Why would we want to take up their precious time with nonessential descriptions if we want them to read our stuff? If we don’t grab their attention right away, we’re in trouble.
This is true not just for short stories, essays, and flash fiction. It’s true for longer writings, like novels, biographies, business books, and histories. The best of them have great openings that draw the reader in.
Consider the opening to James, the new novel by Percival Everett. (James is fresh on my mind since I just read it over the long holiday weekend.)
“Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.”
That opening draws you in to this 303-page novel. You want to know who “those little bastards” are.
Now, if you know that James is a retelling of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave, you can guess that the line refers to Huck and his friend, Tom Sawyer. But that knowledge doesn’t spoil the intrigue. Instead, it fuels your anticipation.
Everett isn’t cutting to the chase with this opening, but he isn’t wasting words describing the grass (other than it is “tall”) or exactly how many little bastards are out there. But read on and you’ll find out soon enough. By then, you are hooked, and the author is reeling you into the story.
So, as you write and re-write, think about the set-up. How essential are the descriptions, the dialogues and monologues, the thoughts in the protagonist’s head, to moving your story along?
And consider cutting to the chase.
AI-generated image of a hypothetical chase scene.
Andy writes! 
Thanks for this post. It makes me think of the classic inverted pyramid in newswriting, with the facts placed in descending order of importance. While creative writing–fiction or nonfiction–is more nuanced than a priority structure, ye auld IP is still a great tool.
I’m still a fan of the inverted pyramid myself but find it to be less useful for some creative writing, especially when the plot involves some level of suspense and character development. But the IP is invaluable when it comes to getting to the point (cutting to the chase).