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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You just discovered that you can teleport into one Hallmark Christmas rom-com of your choosing. Which movie do you choose, and what happens differently in the movie because of your arrival?
Write a story that inverts the trope of the Chosen One.
Write about a time that you were lost (metaphorically or literally).
Overheard in Chemistry class: "Well, that wasn't supposed to happen."
Write about a time that you broke the rules.
Write a dark story in which everything that someone Tweets comes true.
Time travel is real and time tourists show up in large numbers around major historical events. One day, thousands of time tourists are in ships above the earth, quietly waiting.
You're on a sleepover with your best friend, when your best friend starts to act strangely.
Two strangers have an interesting encounter on a park bench during a snowy, winter evening.
Two friends are meeting at a high school reunion. They have not seen each other in ten years.
You're moments late to everything. You watch busses pull away as you run behind them, you miss the first 5 minutes of every movie, and you have never caught a green light. One day, you arrive on time.
Write about a wish that you once made.
You start hearing sounds, but when you ask your friend about it, they look at you with a confused expression.
The objects in the Chemistry classroom come to life when students and teachers are not around.
Write a story about a family adopting a black cat, just in time for Halloween.
A character starts remembering things that never happened.
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