Short Drama Writing 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing for the Market

Short Drama Writing 101： A Beginner’s Guide to Writing for the Market

Short drama is a new storytelling format built for mobile viewing, short attention spans, and paid traffic distribution.

It follows a very different set of rules from traditional film or TV writing. Most beginners struggle not because they lack creativity, but because they don’t understand how this format actually works.

This guide was written to solve that problem.

Short Drama Writing 101 offers a concise, practical introduction to how short dramas are written, structured, and evaluated by the market today — particularly on overseas platforms influenced by China’s short drama ecosystem.

This is not a motivational writing book.

It is not a theory-heavy screenwriting manual.

And it does not promise instant success.

Instead, it provides a clear framework to help you understand:

• What short dramas are — and what they are not
• Why short dramas can only sustain one main storyline
• How audience attention, ad creatives, and paywalls shape storytelling
• Why clarity matters more than complexity in this format
• What platforms actually look for when evaluating projects

The focus is simple:

how to write stories that are watchable, understandable, and market-ready.

Who this guide is for

• Beginners curious about short drama / vertical drama writing
• Writers without a film or TV background
• Creators who want their ideas to reach real audiences
• Anyone trying to understand how short drama platforms think

Who this guide is not for

• Writers focused on literary theory or long-form storytelling
• Creators interested in complex, multi-thread narratives
• Anyone expecting a “get rich quick” formula

About the author

This guide is written by Wenwen (Maggie) Han, an independent short drama producer and the founder of Short Drama Alliance (SDA) — an international knowledge and consulting platform connecting creators, platforms, and investors in the short drama space.

She previously worked at a short drama platform and has since advised and trained writers and teams across both Chinese and overseas markets. Her work focuses on format logic, audience behavior, and market structure, rather than personal creative taste.

This guide reflects how short drama projects are actually filtered by platforms today — not how stories are written in theory.

What you’ll get

• A clear understanding of short drama as a format
• Practical writing criteria used in real market decisions
• Examples and comparisons drawn from both Chinese and Western content
• A realistic starting point — without hype, pressure, or jargon

If you’re curious about short dramas and want a grounded, beginner-friendly place to start, this guide is for you.