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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
It's March 31st, the busiest day of the year at the joke shop you own.
A drama club is horrified upon reading a review of their performance in their high school newspaper.
You discover a strange map that's been stuffed into your locker.
Write a story where your character faces a deep fear.
Write a story about a character who must confront their past.
You are home alone watching TV. A character dials a number on their phone. Your phone rings.
Your Tesla has stopped in the wilderness. The last thing you remember before the panic set in was someone hacking into the car's computer, steering you far away from the safety of the city. In the darkness, a light moves towards you
You're haunted by a ghost. That's not the problem. The problem is that this ghost is really, really, really chatty.
Two people are playing chess. One person can read minds, the other person can see the future.
Write a story with the worlds: "calculation," "corn," and "mayor."
"Breaking news: a mirror Earth has just been confirmed..." was not what you expected to hear on the news when you turned on your radio that morning.
You come across a cheaply printed book of magic tricks. You try one out and discover the book is truly magic, and teaches you how to break fundamental laws of physics.
Write a story about a family's Christmas tradition that has to change this year, for one reason or another.
"See you later!" you called, not realizing it wasn't true.
You are in a bar when an elderly woman takes the stool next to you and says to the bartender, "Hey, Francine, make it a double. It happened again." You can't resist and ask her, "What happened again?"
Write a story that evokes the feeling of nails on a chalkboard!
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