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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You hear music emanating from aisle 3 of your local grocery store. No one else hears it.
Write about the last nightmare you had.
You find your grandparent's old chessboard in the attic. Absentmindedly, you move a piece. The next day, an opposing piece has been moved.
Overheard at the track-and-field: "I! NEVER! WANT! TO! SEE! THAT! DOG! POKING! HIS! HEAD! IN! HERE! AGAIN!"
Write about the best day of your life.
You find a note in your locker: "Save yourself while you still can."
What is the memory that you remember the most? Why?
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.
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.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
Write a story about understanding differences in cultures through clothing.
A character must confront their fear of commitment if they want to save their failing relationship.
Write a story about a group of five friends who set out at night for trick or treating… and when they return, they're only four.
"When i grow up, I want to..."
A character doesn't know how to ask their parent to stop calling them 2+ times a day.
Write a story about the friendship between two different species of animals.
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