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47 Best Dramatic Short Story Ideas

Showing 47 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.

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You are part of a huge team of accountants that manages the karma of people on earth.

"Savor this sunset, folks. It might be the last one we ever see."

As the sun set, the desert wasteland glowed an eerie red.

You find a well-kept, spotless leather bound book in the middle of a vast desert.

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 sit at your window to watch a neighbor play a musical instrument. You can't hear the music, but you're transfixed by the musician's expression.

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.

Something unusual is found in a winter coat pocket.

There is a fountain that truly does grant wishes to those who throw coins in it.

You're on a train when someone sits across from you and begins to cry.

You were sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sun, when a stranger sat next to you and started typing on an old fashioned typewriter.

You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.

There's an urban legend about a taxi cab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you step into this cab.

Someone you believed to be dead "comes back."

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