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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You enter a room where someone is having a phone call. They don't see you and you overhear a big secret that you clearly weren't meant to.
Write about the most epic Easter egg hunt ever.
You've just moved into a new house. You wake up one night to the sound of Siri responding to a query. You turned off your phone before you went to sleep.
It's the year 2099, and everyone has a smartwatch that can tell them what age they die.
You are on a solo camping trip in the woods. After a deep night's sleep, you awake to the voice of someone saying, "Rise and shine!"
It's the first day of summer camp, and one of this year's new campers is the child of a major celebrity. Write a story about the first week from the head camp counselor's perspective.
As you ride your motorcycle off into the sunset, you see something unexpected on the horizon.
"When I regained consciousness, I was invisible. And I don't know how to fix it!"
You are an expert spy for the British government, trained to perfection. Your only weakness is that your background music alerts enemies to your presence.
Write a story about the local PETA branch starting a campaign supporting black cats on Halloween day.
There's an urban legend about a taxi cab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you step into this cab.
Write a story where your character is acting differently on the outside than they feel on the inside.
The biggest tsunami in a decade is here. You're told to leave the city immediately, and you're on your way out when you see a dog struggling to stay afloat in the distance.
You stumble across an abandoned house in the woods.
Someone just knocked on the door late at night, but you weren't expecting anyone. When you open the door... no one's there.
You are a curmudgeonly old man whose name is Writer S. Block. You just spotted your next victim.
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