No to padding

It's fascinating to see how different writers tackle the challenge of creating a short story. Some opt for the beginning, middle, end approach, a traditional and proven format which has served short story writers well down the decades.
Others go for deliberately confusing the reader, creating stories which are not clear at the start but which slowly reveal themselves. They may do it by concealing where the action takes place, or perhaps who the central
characters are. Or keeping back the salient piece of information the reader needs to make sense of everything. Done right, it can be a very effective approach which makes for intriguing stories, keeps you reading to the end and evokes a sense of surprise or shock at the end.
Some writers go for the flashback approach, beginning the story with an incident then working backwards to explain how we arrived at this moment. Knowing what happens at the end can make the events that unfold that little but more poignant.
Whatever approach writers take, the key thing is to be disciplined. What characterises so many of the stories we receive is the ability of the writers to strip away from what is unimportant - or rather, what is unimportant when you only have 2,000 words to play with - and leave the reader with a story based on the true art of storytelling, what is truly relevant.
And that’s the key to good short story writing. I was once asked by an aspiring writer: 'can you tell me how to write padding?' Well, the simple answer was 'no. Good writing, not just good short story writing, depends on the ability of the writers to hone in on what really matters. No padding in sight.

John Dean