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47 Best Dramatic Short Story Ideas
Showing 47 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You're in an airport, watching people say goodbye before heading through security.
"Have a good night," you say, and breath a huge sigh of relief the moment you walk away.
You discover a secret family member you never knew existed.
You're on a train when someone sits across from you and begins to cry.
You live in a future where music in any form is considered repugnant. You find an old music box.
As you ride your motorcycle off into the sunset, you see something unexpected on the horizon.
A woman drops her wallet on the street, and it falls open. You pick it up and are about to return it to her when you notice a strange picture inside.
As the sun set, the desert wasteland glowed an eerie red.
Someone you believed to be dead "comes back."
You are home alone watching TV. A character dials a number on their phone. Your phone rings.
You find your grandparent's old chessboard in the attic. Absentmindedly, you move a piece. The next day, an opposing piece has been moved.
Everyday you are delivered a newspaper at your front door that accurately predicts what will happen in the next 24 hours.
By the time this party is finished, three people's lives will be changed forever.
You're kneeling in the dirt, working on your garden when your attention is drawn up by a person saying, "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but..."
You are an astronaut spending your last few hours on Earth before a journey into space.
You open a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. Inside is a handwritten note.
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