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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story that begin and ends around an awkward Christmas dinner table.
You are a student working on a team project. You and your group are accidentally locked in the school library overnight.
Write a children's book about a young child who gets transported into a magical world inside of a snow globe.
A character doesn't know how to break up with their partner, and keeps putting it off until the very moment that the partner bends down on one knee and proposes.
You're the director at a marketing agency. Your next project: to come up with an irresistibly catchy Christmas jingle. The only problem is that you hate Christmas.
"Whatever you do, DO NOT touch this. Or else."
You wake up the day after an epic party. You're not where you expected to be.
Write a story about Christmas from the perspective of someone who hates Christmas.
A love story that starts and ends in 24 hours.
You're outside in the park playing Pokemon Go when… wait… is that Pikachu… getting into a fight with your dog…?
Write about a time you were given responsibility.
Write a story that retells a famous fairy tale, but in a modern-day high school setting.
Write a story about the passage of time based only upon a series of birthday wishes.
Your Tesla has stopped in the wilderness. The last thing you remember before the panic set in was someone hacking into the car's computer, steering you far away from the safety of the city. In the darkness, a light moves towards you
Write a story with these words: "teddy bear," "black," "blood."
Set your story at the bleachers of the track and field.
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