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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.
While looking through old photos you discover something that unequivocally settles an argument that ended a childhood friendship decades ago.
You check into a seedy hotel and discover halfway through the night that it is made up entirely of thirteenth floors missing from other hotels.
Write about a place the sky meets the sea.
A student has to fight against societal expectations in order to fulfill a lifelong dream.
You are born with the ability to stop time. One day, you see something else moving when you have already stopped time.
You're on a train when someone sits across from you and begins to cry.
All of your birthday presents this year look normal, except for one sitting in the corner that has a strange yellow glow emitting from it...
Write a story about someone trying to hide a pet from their parents.
Write a story that takes place over the span of the longest Monopoly game ever.
You're one of Santa Claus's elves, and wishes on childrens' wishlists from around the world this Christmas have gone through the roof. Literally. Now you need to somehow find a repairman to fix Santa's roof before Santa finds out.
A wand-maker goes to the forest ready to work, only to find a group of environmentalists camped out in front of their favorite hemlock tree.
You're on an island in the middle of the ocean. One day you find a bottle washed up on the shore with a piece of paper in it.
You witness a total solar eclipse.
An elderly person finally takes the last picture on a film camera they've had for decades. Today they're going to print it.
A group of high school students go on an educational field trip to a graveyard to learn about the history of the area. But when a storm starts up and they get trapped, they have to figure out how to survive the night.
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