Green’s Dictionary of Slang

short story n.

(US Und.) a forged cheque.

1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1952		C. Hamilton Men of the Und. 155: The first ‘short story’ he penned, a check for $150.

In compounds

short story writer (n.)

(US Und.) one who passes bad cheques.

1930		J. Black ‘A Burglar Looks at Laws and Codes’ in Harper’s Mag. CLX 306: A house burglar sneers at a pickpocket, a pickpocket calls the forger a ‘short story writer’.
1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl.
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 193/1: Short story writer. (Rare) A forger of checks or other instruments.
1952		C. Hamilton Men of the Und. 107: The lowly ‘short-story writer’ as the bum-check artist is called in the underworld.
1959		(con. c.1915) Gladys Duffy Warden’s Wife 67: Upon being released, a ‘paper-hanger’ will [...] assure you that his days of being a ‘short-story writer’ are over.
1998		P. Doyle (con. late 1950s) Amaze Your Friends (2019) 118: He was a ‘short-story writer,’ a forger.

In phrases

write short stories (v.)

(US Und.) to pass bad cheques.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).