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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
One character wants a snake, but their roommate has a phobia. They adopt one anyway.
Your academic rival at school has joined the Art Club, so now you must also join the Art Club. Problem is, you're pretty sure that you're colorblind.
Write a story from the perspective of your middle school self.
A plane that's been missing for years suddenly lands at a major airport.
Write a story that takes place over the span of the longest Monopoly game ever.
You wake up with no memory of the previous night. On your nightstand, your cell phone is lighting up with texts.
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 part of a huge team of accountants that manages the karma of people on earth.
Two colleagues with poor communication skills have to collaborate for the first time on a project.
Where do you see the future of technology heading? Write an essay explaining why.
It's Valentine's Day and when you open your locker, a note falls out. What does it read?
Write a story about time passing from the perspective of a young child who tends to plants every day.
It was the most epic senior prank your high school had ever seen.
You could only watch in disbelief as the work-place prank you had planned turned to chaos.
Write a story about an ongoing rivalry between a vampire and a werewolf for supremacy over Halloween.
Write a story about a high-stakes decoration competition between neighbors vyying for the title of Most Festive Home in their city (and the local newspaper feature that comes with it).
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