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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
A character must overcome their fear of running to join the soccer team, where their longtime crush is.
Everyday, you sit at your window to watch a neighbor play a musical instrument. You can't hear the music, but you're transfixed by the musician's expression.
You hear a scream and it's coming from inside your own home.
Your mother sits you and your brother down, and says, "Kids, I'm gonna tell you an incredible story the story of how I met your father."
Write a story about a young character who wants to learn magic.
Your family's run out of coal to heat your home in December. To procure coal for your family, you have to figure out how to get onto Santa's naughty list... quickly.
You wake up unable to say a word, but can all of a sudden write the most amazing music.
Write a story inspired by a photo on Instagram.
You are a curmudgeonly old man whose name is Writer S. Block. You just spotted your next victim.
Everyday you are delivered a newspaper at your front door that accurately predicts what will happen in the next 24 hours.
You just discovered that you can teleport into one Hallmark Christmas rom-com of your choosing. Which movie do you choose, and what happens differently in the movie because of your arrival?
Write a story about two characters competing to take the worst ever picture-day portrait.
Two friends are meeting at a high school reunion. They have not seen each other in ten years.
You find a blank book. Whatever you write in it becomes true.
"Breaking news: a mirror Earth has just been confirmed..." was not what you expected to hear on the news when you turned on your radio that morning.
Describe your greatest fear, and how you have or have not overcome it yet.
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