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53 Best Funny Short Story Ideas

Showing 53 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.

The old bus driver who drives you to work every day always tells you rambling stories about his friends, who all seem to have passed away. Eventually, you begin to suspect he is immortal.

Your new cell phone number used to be the number of a very popular personal therapist.

You buy your son a teddy bear. Every night, the bear protects your son from the monsters in the dark.

It's March 31st, the busiest day of the year at the joke shop you own.

A group of seniors in university have been planning a graduation prank all year. Today's finally the day.

An office worker's favorite coffee mug has gone missing, and the obsessive search for the mug throughout the workplace turns into a dire and ridiculous odyssey.

"I have to go!" she/he said suddenly, jumping up from the table during dinner.

You wake up to the sound of a voice. Nervous, you look around the room until your eyes land on your pet. You swear you just heard it sleep-talking.

You were mowing your lawn when someone walked by your yard and burst into tears.

While transferring between international flights at an airport, you befriend a strange person while passing through security.

You are a space kitty, traveling from planet to planet. You write a letter home and this is what it says.

Many action movies involve the hero jumping into a vehicle and demanding the driver to "follow that car!" Write from the perspective of the driver.

Write a story that ends with a shocking plot twist.

You woke up and all seemed normal. Little did you know that before you'd even had a chance to get out of bed, you would become the subject of a prank.

You are a curmudgeonly old man whose name is Writer S. Block. You just spotted your next victim.

You are in a bar when an elderly woman takes the stool next to you and says to the bartender, "Hey, Francine, make it a double. It happened again." You can't resist and ask her, "What happened again?"

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