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Are you ready to write but don’t know what to write about? Prepare to kick your writing into gear by browsing through our list of 200+ short story ideas. New prompts are added each week, and you can search by genre. But don’t let our categories stop you from putting your own spin on a writing prompt: if you find a short story idea tagged as sci-fi, but you think it would make a great romance plot, run with it! For tips on how to come up with your own story ideas, scroll to the bottom of the page.

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53 Best Funny Short Story Ideas

Showing 53 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.

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It's a Thursday evening, and Greg Richerson is flashing his sports cars again.

You are on a solo camping trip in the woods. After a deep night's sleep, you awake to the voice of someone saying, "Rise and shine!"

Emotional baggage must now be checked in at the airport.

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.

Write a story with an open ending.

You are a server at a restaurant, having the busiest shift of your life.

It was the most epic senior prank your high school had ever seen.

You were staring out the bus window idly when someone sat down and said, "What a DAY!"

You could only watch in disbelief as the work-place prank you had planned turned to chaos.

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

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?"

"BOO!" you yell, grabbing the shoulders of a person you think is your friend from behind. They turn around and it's a total stranger.

You are a student working on a team project. You and your group are accidentally locked in the school library overnight.

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

You just discovered England's biggest secret: every time they sing "God Save the Queen" it extends the queens life.

You are an expert spy for the British government, trained to perfection. Your only weakness is that your background music alerts enemies to your presence.