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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
"Say cheese!" You push the camera button, hear the click, and... that's when all hell broke loose.
Write about Christmas from the perspective of the local cat.
Write a story about coming out. The ending is a happy one.
Think about a moment in your life that elicited very strong emotions. Write about a character going through a different experience that leads to the same emotions.
While spring cleaning, you come across something you had forgotten all about.
Write a story where your character finds out a rumor is circulating about them.
You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.
A group of kids get an invite to a costume party in the neighborhood… but when they arrive, the monsters aren't costumes. They're real.
You're in an airport, watching people say goodbye before heading through security.
You just found a key in your pocket that wasn't there when you last checked.
Write about a family with secrets that get stuck in a corn maze overnight. One by one, all of the secrets come out in the course of the night.
A woman drops her wallet on the street, and it falls open. You pick it up and are about to return it to her when you notice a strange picture inside.
You've just made the discovery of secret playground deep in the woods... and only you know of its existence.
You open a door, but before you can go through, someone sneaks in front of you without saying "thank you." You've had an awful day and this is the last straw.
A character starts remembering things that never happened.
"By the time I wake up in the morning, I want them dead."
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