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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Someone you believed to be dead "comes back."
Write about the last nightmare you had.
Write about what you want to be in the future, whether that's in terms of personality, goals, or career.
Write a story in the form of a diary that journals every day in the month leading up to Christmas.
In a series of letters to Santa, write a story about growing up.
The theme for this year's prom is "Great Gatsby," and you're the head of the prom committee that's in charge of putting it together.
Describe your weekend using only dialogue to write the story.
Write a story about living a lie. You get to choose the lie.
One person has been on the waiting list to check out a library book for months. The other person has the long-overdue book. The two coincidentally meet one day at the library.
Write a children's book that's set entirely in space.
You are a Nobel Prize Winner, on your way to the awards ceremony. Suddenly, you are transported back in time.
Write about your goals at ages 5, 10, 15, and 20.
While looking through old photos you discover something that unequivocally settles an argument that ended a childhood friendship decades ago.
Write a story about coming out. The ending is a happy one.
Write a story about something that seems ordinary to your protagonist but would be perceived as extraordinary by someone else.
A character on their deathbed tells their family about their regrets.
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