Anton Chekhov’s 6 Rules For Writing Fiction

We’re writing about the acclaimed short story writer, Anton Chekhov. In this post, we read about Anton Chekhov’s 6 rules for writing fiction.

Anton Chekhov was born 29 January 1860, and died 15 July 1904. He was a Russian playwright and the master of the modern short story. He wrote, among many others, ‘Gooseberries‘, ‘Misery‘, ‘Neighbours‘, ‘The Chorus Girl‘, ‘An Anonymous Story‘, ‘The Black Monk‘, ‘Murder‘ and ‘Ariadne‘. He was also a doctor, and continued to practise medicine during his literary career.

In Chekhov’s short story writing, the plot stems from the characters, and he writes about them with empathy and understanding. His short stories are realistic and they focus on ordinary people. He preferred mood and feelings over plot.

He is also known for the literary device known as Chekhov’s Gun. He said, “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.” This means that every element introduced in a story should be necessary for the plot.

Every word counts in Chekhov’s fiction and he leaves a lot left unsaid. This forces readers to think about the underlying meanings in his stories. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘Chekhov’s elusive, superficially guileless style of writing—in which what is left unsaid seems much more important than what is said—has defied effective analysis by literary critics and effective imitation by other creative writers.’

Perhaps Chekhov’s most famous quotation on writing is ‘Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.’ He emphasised this by saying: ‘Be sure not to discuss your hero’s state of mind. Make it clear from his actions.’ He had understood and mastered the art of showing and not telling many years before it became a writing staple.

He is known as the best representative of the late 19th-century Russian realist school.

Anton Chekhov’s 6 Rules For Writing Short Fiction

Chekhov mastered the art of short story writing, and these are his rules for writing in an 1886 letter to his brother Aleksandr (included in Anton Chekhov’s Life and Thought: Selected Letters and Commentaries):

1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature.
2. Total objectivity.
3. Truthful description of persons and objects.
4. Extreme brevity.
5. Audacity and originality: flee the stereotype.
6. Compassion.

There are plenty of writers besides Chekhov who have rejected wordy, pompous fiction. His style influenced many authors, including Raymond Carver, Eudora Welty, Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor, James Joyce, and John Updike. His work was written 30 years before James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway were recognised for changing the literary landscape. Even if you’ve never read him, you have most likely been influenced by him.

Anton Chekhov’s emphasis on subtext, realism, and ordinary life continues to shape the way stories are written today. You can read them in The Greatest Short Stories of Anton Chekhov and Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov.

Source for image: V. Chekhovskii, Moscow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

If you enjoyed this post, you will love:

1. Edith Wharton On Writing Fiction
2. Elizabeth Strout’s Writing Process
3. Harlan Coben On Writing Suspense
4. Brandon Sanderson’s 3 Rules For Magic
5. 10 Bits Of Writing Advice From Colson Whitehead
6. 9 Bits Of Writing Advice From Naomi Alderman
7. 9 Bits Of Writing Advice From Guillermo del Toro
8. Douglas Adams On The Difficulties Of Writing
9. 6 Bits Of Writing Advice From Richard Osman
10. Writing Advice From The World’s Most Famous Authors

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.