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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Five competitive students are invited to board game night. Only one can win.
Two colleagues with poor communication skills have to collaborate for the first time on a project.
Write about a time that you found out something surprising about somebody else.
Write a story from the perspective of your middle school self.
Write a story set at a peppermint convention for people obsessed with peppermint.
Write a story that inverts the trope of the Chosen One.
You saw something that you weren't supposed to see. Telling the truth could fix a horrible situation for one of the colleagues involved — but it would get you fired.
Write about a place the sky meets the sea.
You're on a train when someone sits across from you and begins to cry.
Money really does grow on trees and is heavily regulated by governments.
You wake up unable to say a word, but can all of a sudden write the most amazing music.
Write a story that inverts a popular YA trope. You get to pick the trope.
Your academic rival at school has joined the Art Club, so now you must also join the Art Club. Problem is, you're pretty sure that you're colorblind.
It's your first spring… and you have allergies!
"Savor this sunset, folks. It might be the last one we ever see."
While looking through old photos you discover something that unequivocally settles an argument that ended a childhood friendship decades ago.
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