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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
The monster from your nightmare is standing next to you when you wake up.
Write a children's book about a young child who gets transported into a magical world inside of a snow globe.
A 50-year-old has started to do the daily Sudoku, scared that she is starting to lose her memory.
Set your story at the bleachers of the track and field.
Many action movies involve the hero jumping into a vehicle and demanding the driver to "follow that car!" Write from the perspective of the driver.
Your mother sits you and your brother down, and says, "Kids, I'm gonna tell you an incredible story the story of how I met your father."
You hear music emanating from aisle 3 of your local grocery store. No one else hears it.
Write a story set at a peppermint convention for people obsessed with peppermint.
You were sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sun, when a stranger sat next to you and started typing on an old fashioned typewriter.
You are a student working on a team project. You and your group are accidentally locked in the school library overnight.
Write a story about understanding differences in cultures through clothing.
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.
"When I regained consciousness, I was invisible. And I don't know how to fix it!"
You woke up and all seemed normal. Little did you know that before you'd even had a chance to get out of bed, you would become the subject of a prank.
You wake up one day and find that you can suddenly talk to animals.
Describe a change that you think you've gone through.
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