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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
On your commute to work, you expect to see the sun rise as usual. This time, two suns rise.
The one place where the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
Write a story that ends by jumping forward several years.
It is the year 3000. The sun starts to flicker.
Write about a law in your country that you would change.
"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.
Where do you see the future of technology heading? Write an essay explaining why.
This was the moment you'd been waiting for. Gleefully, you raised your camera to take a picture and then... the battery died.
Write a story about two characters competing to take the worst ever picture-day portrait.
The monster from your nightmare is standing next to you when you wake up.
"When i grow up, I want to..."
You have wondered how to bring down Jane Lotsacash for years. Now, the key to her demise rests on your desk...
You could only watch in disbelief as the work-place prank you had planned turned to chaos.
Write about a time that you taught something to somebody.
Write about a place the sky meets the sea.
"I have to go!" she/he said suddenly, jumping up from the table during dinner.
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