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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Everyday you are delivered a newspaper at your front door that accurately predicts what will happen in the next 24 hours.
Set your story at a busy airport during Christmas week.
You wake up the day after an epic party. You're not where you expected to be.
Write a story about a haircut that doesn't go exactly the way that a character wanted it to.
Write a story about a rival studio that is desperately trying to create a song to outsell Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
You thought you were the last person left on Earth. Today you found out that might not be true.
A group of students hold a high-stakes competition to see who can carve the best jack-o-lantern. The class clown is appointed the judge.
You catch a falling star and put it in your pocket.
You're the director at a marketing agency. Your next project: to come up with an irresistibly catchy Christmas jingle. The only problem is that you hate Christmas.
You pass by a person sitting with their face to the sun, the most content smile you've ever seen on their face.
Write an unrequited loved story using situational irony.
Write about a time that you found out something surprising about yourself.
A pair of best friends realize they're two corners of a love triangle — they both have feelings for the same person.
Instead of trying to get a man on the moon, every nation raced to be the first at the very bottom of the ocean.
Two people are playing chess. One person can read minds, the other person can see the future.
August 30, 1946: The date of the one and only time travel convention. You attend every year.
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