diff --git a/chardev/char.c b/chardev/char.c
index 6b85099c03..78553125d3 100644
--- a/chardev/char.c
+++ b/chardev/char.c
@@ -138,7 +138,20 @@ static int qemu_chr_write_buffer(Chardev *s,
         }
     }
     if (*offset > 0) {
+        /*
+         * If some data was written by backend, we should
+         * only log what was actually written. This method
+         * may be invoked again to write the remaining
+         * method, thus we'll log the remainder at that time.
+         */
         qemu_chr_write_log(s, buf, *offset);
+    } else if (res < 0) {
+        /*
+         * If a fatal error was reported by the backend,
+         * assume this method won't be invoked again with
+         * this buffer, so log it all right away.
+         */
+        qemu_chr_write_log(s, buf, len);
     }
     qemu_mutex_unlock(&s->chr_write_lock);