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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Describe a character and their life using only the apps on their phone.
On your commute to work, you expect to see the sun rise as usual. This time, two suns rise.
Doctor Seuss has grown weary of writing children's books and finds new work as a reporter covering violent crime for a newspaper. Despite his new line of work, he keeps his classic Seussian style.
If a fire broke out in your home, what are the first three things that you would grab? Why?
You work the night shift at a 24 hour laundromat. The job seems normal until someone crawls out of one of the washers and tells you that after dark, every machine leads to a different world.
You're the world's best photographer. Your secret? You can freeze time.
Write about a time you were given responsibility.
Every day, you visit the same moment from your past.
Money really does grow on trees and is heavily regulated by governments.
Overheard in Chemistry class: "Well, that wasn't supposed to happen."
You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.
Write a book with anthromorpohized characters.
A character must confront their fear of commitment if they want to save their failing relationship.
You signed up for what you thought was a sweepstakes to win the latest Apple iPhone model, only to discover to your horror when you get to the fall festival that it's actually a competition to see who can eat the most apples in 30 minutes.
Your diary has started leaking blood. You have to find out what this means, but you have a time limit because the more blood that leaks from it, the weaker you seem to get.
Write a story centered on the theme of persistence when it comes to exams.
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