When Too Much Writing Hurts Your Story
Table of Contents
Most writers worry about not writing enough.
But the opposite problem can quietly damage a story just as much.
It’s called overwriting.
And many writers don’t realize they’re doing it.
Underwriting vs. Overwriting
Most writers understand underwriting.
That’s when a story lacks the basic information readers need.
You see scenes where:
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We don’t know who is speaking
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We don’t know where the characters are
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Dialogue floats in empty space
Writers call this “talking heads.”
It happens because the writer can see the entire scene clearly in their mind — but the reader cannot.
There are countless books teaching writers how to avoid this.
But the opposite problem gets discussed far less.
What Is Overwriting?
Overwriting happens when a writer adds more information than the story actually needs.
Not bad writing.
Just too much of it.
It usually appears in three ways.
1. Excessive description
Pages describing things that don’t affect the story.
2. Unnecessary backstory
Explaining a character’s entire life when the reader only needs a small piece.
3. Too many subplots
Side stories that distract from the main narrative.
When this happens, the story begins to slow down.
What Overwriting Feels Like to a Reader
Readers rarely say, “This book is overwritten.”
Instead, they say things like:
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“The story feels slow.”
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“I started skipping paragraphs.”
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“I lost track of what the story was about.”
That’s the real danger.
The tension disappears.
The Stephen King Example
One writer often mentioned in conversations about overwriting is
Stephen King.
I once watched a YouTube review discussing his novel Christine, which runs roughly 737 pages.
The reviewer made an interesting argument:
The core story could probably be much shorter and still work.
King often dives deeply into:
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character histories
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town backstories
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side characters
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detailed subplots
None of it is poorly written.
In fact, it’s often fascinating.
But it raises a question many readers quietly ask:
Do we need all of it?
The Advice King Once Received
Interestingly, Stephen King once received advice that speaks directly to this issue.
When he was in high school, he wrote sports reports for the school newspaper.
His teacher told him something simple:
You’re a great writer — but your reports are too long.
Shorten them.
King later said this was one of the best pieces of advice he ever received.
Yet even today, his novels are famously long.
When Long Books Still Work
Here’s the interesting part.
Despite the length…
Readers still love them.
Novels like:
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It
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Needful Things
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Under the Dome
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The Stand
are enormous books packed with characters and storylines.
And yet they work.
Why?
Because King has something many writers struggle to master:
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strong pacing
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compelling characters
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immersive worlds
Readers stay engaged even when the story expands.
Why Publishers Worry About Long Books
There’s also a practical reason publishers hesitate with very long novels.
Printing costs money.
More pages mean:
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higher production costs
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larger financial risk
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higher book prices
When Stephen King first published The Stand, the publisher actually cut about 400 pages to reduce costs.
The original version came out around 823 pages.
Years later, when King became massively successful, the full 1,153-page version was released — and it sold just as well.
Few writers have that luxury.
Why Overwriting Is Hard for New Writers
For most writers, overwriting creates a different problem.
Complex stories with:
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dozens of characters
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multiple subplots
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massive worldbuilding
are extremely difficult to control.
Stephen King’s novel Needful Things contains what feels like an entire town’s worth of characters.
Yet readers rarely get lost.
Most writers attempting something like that would struggle to keep everything coherent.
The Editing Rule Every Writer Needs
There’s an old piece of writing advice often repeated in creative writing:
“Kill your darlings.”
The idea is simple.
Writers often keep scenes because they love them, not because the story needs them.
That’s where overwriting begins.
One Simple Test for Overwriting
When revising your manuscript, ask three questions:
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Does this scene move the story forward?
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Does the reader need this information right now?
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Would the story still work if this paragraph disappeared?
If the answer is yes, you probably need to cut it.
Most strong novels aren’t written short.
They’re edited short.
The Real Lesson
The goal isn’t to write less.
The goal is to write what the story truly needs.
Write freely in the first draft.
Then cut aggressively during revision.
Because great storytelling isn’t about how much you write.
It’s about what you choose to keep.
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