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Why do short stories usually avoid complex plots?

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Analyze short fiction elements evidenced in “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Necklace,” and “The Magic Shop” — short story American editor and anthologist Clifton Fadiman discusses the elements of a short story, 1980. The video features clips from Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation's dramatizations of O. Henry's “The Gift of the Magi,” Guy de Maupassant's “The Necklace,” and H.G. Wells's “The Magic Shop.”

Short stories typically avoid complex plots because the genre is defined by its brevity and focus on a single, unified effect. Unlike a novel, which has the scope to develop intricate narrative structures, the short story relies on an economy of narrative to convey its subject within a few significant scenes or episodes.1

By omitting a complex plot, the author can maintain a concise focus that prioritizes the immediate impact of the story over elaborate, multi-layered developments. This structural choice allows the narrative to disclose character through specific actions and dramatic encounters rather than through the extensive, full-scale development often found in longer works of fiction. Ultimately, the short story is judged by its ability to provide a complete and satisfying treatment of its characters and themes within these intentionally limited constraints.1