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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
It's the first day of school, and you're finding it hard to make friends when someone unexpected steps up.
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 find a note in your locker: "Save yourself while you still can."
You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.
A man sidles up to a woman in a bar. Little does he know she's an undercover cop following him.
Write a story about a test that your character has to overcome. The test can be metaphorical or figurative.
The pumpkin flickered while you carved it… but there was no candle in it.
A child was stolen, and a straw doll left in their place.
It's Wednesday evening and you're off to the weekly meeting of your writer's block support group.
Write about a time you broke a promise. What did it feel like? Why did you break it?
You get lost in the woods during a hike. It's starting to get dark, when you see the glow of a campfire nearby.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
Every week, you post an ad in the newspaper asking for a time traveller to contact you. One day you get a response, dated year 2200.
Rewrite a famous romantic scene from the perspective of a bystander who has no idea what is going on.
You were sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sun, when a stranger sat next to you and started typing on an old fashioned typewriter.
Something unusual is found in a winter coat pocket.
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