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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write about a time that you felt like an outsider.
Write a story about a family's Christmas tradition that has to change this year, for one reason or another.
Write about what you want to be in the future, whether that's in terms of personality, goals, or career.
You're home alone for the first time ever. Write a story about how the day unfolds.
It's March 31st, the busiest day of the year at the joke shop you own.
"When I regained consciousness, I was invisible. And I don't know how to fix it!"
You are traveling when you are informed by an airport official that your passport isn't valid, and the country you claim to be from doesn't exist.
Write a story about a rival studio that is desperately trying to create a song to outsell Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
An office worker's favorite coffee mug has gone missing, and the obsessive search for the mug throughout the workplace turns into a dire and ridiculous odyssey.
You are the only person who has to go into work on a public holiday.
You left cookies on the table on the day before Christmas. When you wake up the next day, the cookies are gone, and in their place is a note. What does it say?
Write a story about a character who doesn't know how to share.
Write a story about Christmas from the perspective of someone who hates Christmas.
Describe your greatest fear, and how you have or have not overcome it yet.
You're sitting at your desk eating candy hearts. You start to realize the notes on the hearts are trying to give you a message.
It's your last time trick-or-treating. What's your costume? How do you spend the evening?
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