1 files changed, 2 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/emitter.py b/emitter.py
index 73fbe05..41dc3e8 100644
--- a/emitter.py
+++ b/emitter.py
@@ -769,7 +769,8 @@ class Emitter(object):
             or (isinstance(self.event, MappingStartEvent) and self.event.flow_style is True)
             or (
                 isinstance(self.event, ScalarEvent)
-                and not self.analysis.empty
+                # if there is an explicit style for an empty string, it is a simple key
+                and not (self.analysis.empty and self.style and self.style not in '\'"')
                 and not self.analysis.multiline
             )
             or self.check_empty_sequence()