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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
A writer becomes trapped inside their own book.
It's the first day of school, and you're finding it hard to make friends when someone unexpected steps up.
Write a story that ends by jumping forward several years.
Mars is the new wild west, complete with gunslingers.
On Easter Monday, if a certain rabbit emerges from the ground and sees its shadow, winter returns for 4 weeks.
Write a dark story in which everything that someone Tweets comes true.
A habitually fearful person turns brave.
Write about your favorite hobby.
As you ride your motorcycle off into the sunset, you see something unexpected on the horizon.
Write a story that ends with a shocking plot twist.
Write about a family with secrets that get stuck in a corn maze overnight. One by one, all of the secrets come out in the course of the night.
Set your story entirely under mistletoe.
You're on a sleepover with your best friend, when your best friend starts to act strangely.
You've just made the discovery of secret playground deep in the woods... and only you know of its existence.
Two colleagues with poor communication skills have to collaborate for the first time on a project.
You get lost in the woods during a hike. It's starting to get dark, when you see the glow of a campfire nearby.
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