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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
It's your first day in a new city where you don't speak the language.
Write a story that ends by coming full circle.
A logical person starts acting irrationally.
"What? You're Father who? I don't know no Father Christmas, now get off of my lawn!"
It is discovered that Earth actually IS flat.
Write about Christmas from the perspective of the local cat.
Write a story that draws from a moment in your life where you wish you'd made a different choice. Have your protagonist make that choice, and then see what happens.
Write a story in which it becomes night forever. The sun has gone.
Write a short story in the form of a text message exchange between two best friends during history class.
While transferring between international flights at an airport, you befriend a strange person while passing through security.
Write a story about an elementary school student who has to overcome their fear of public speaking in order to win a speech contest.
Set your story at the bleachers of the track and field.
A couple gets in a fight after one finds out that the other has secretly wasted $50,000 on lottery tickets over the past 15 years.
You are born with the ability to stop time. One day, you see something else moving when you have already stopped time.
A child walks into the forest and learns about all of the animals that live in there.
A bittersweet farewell: bitter for one person, sweet for the other.
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