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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You work at an airport and notice the same person waiting in "arrivals" every week. Each time, they leave alone. One day you muster the courage to ask who they are waiting for.
Your date finds an engagement ring inside a slice of cake they ordered for dessert. You weren't planning to propose.
Write a story where someone says, "If only I could have met you ten years later, maybe… this all could have turned out differently."
Write a story with these words: "teddy bear," "black," "blood."
You were staring out the bus window idly when someone sat down and said, "What a DAY!"
You're spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel. You're just about to go into your room, when you hear a harp playing from inside it.
If a fire broke out in your home, what are the first three things that you would grab? Why?
You're on a boat that should have reached undiscovered land days ago. Your compass tells you you're on the right path but there is no land in sight.
You pass by a person sitting with their face to the sun, the most content smile you've ever seen on their face.
A forgotten object is found in an attic during spring cleaning.
You meet someone who's different from you. Write a story about how you become friends.
Write about a time you failed.
A character has to choose between family and their desire for the truth.
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.
"Pick a card, any card. But take care — which card you pull out will determine your fate."
Two people are playing chess. One person can read minds, the other person can see the future.
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