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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
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.
Write about a difficult decision you had to make, and how you ended up making it.
You are a space kitty, traveling from planet to planet. You write a letter home and this is what it says.
You're one of Santa Claus's elves, and wishes on childrens' wishlists from around the world this Christmas have gone through the roof. Literally. Now you need to somehow find a repairman to fix Santa's roof before Santa finds out.
You enter a room where someone is having a phone call. They don't see you and you overhear a big secret that you clearly weren't meant to.
In the closet of your new home is a portal through space and time. You accidentally travel to Mars.
Write a story that inverts a popular YA trope. You get to pick the trope.
You have a writer's block breakthrough at the worst possible time.
Write a story about a catastrophic attempt to use grandma's famous pumpkin pie recipe for the annual Halloween feast.
You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.
The monster from your nightmare is standing next to you when you wake up.
Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
In front of you lie two doors. One contains your worst nightmare. The other, your greatest dream.
You briefly go out in the snow and come back inside. When you go out again, your footprints from earlier lead in a different direction.
Re-tell Jane Eyre as a short story... but set it in the far future.
Write an unrequited loved story using situational irony.
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