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DIRECTORY
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.
You find your grandparent's old chessboard in the attic. Absentmindedly, you move a piece. The next day, an opposing piece has been moved.
Write about the way the sunset looks from the perspective of two characters. One is sad, the other is happy.
You are home alone watching TV. A character dials a number on their phone. Your phone rings.
"I love you," you said. Before you could hear a response, your phone died.
A bittersweet farewell: bitter for one person, sweet for the other.
You're on a boat that should have reached undiscovered land days ago. Your compass tells you you're on the right path but there is no land in sight.
It's the beginning of a new term at your university. As usual, you scramble to your first class and get there just in time. No one is there but you and the professor.
You wake up unable to say a word, but can all of a sudden write the most amazing music.
You are part of a huge team of accountants that manages the karma of people on earth.
As the sun set, the desert wasteland glowed an eerie red.
You thought you were the last person left on Earth. Today you found out that might not be true.
You open a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. Inside is a handwritten note.
"Savor this sunset, folks. It might be the last one we ever see."
Everyday you are delivered a newspaper at your front door that accurately predicts what will happen in the next 24 hours.
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