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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
A story that takes place in the Wild West, but the world is frigid, covered with snow and ice instead of sand.
You are on a solo camping trip in the woods. After a deep night's sleep, you awake to the voice of someone saying, "Rise and shine!"
A person dictates who he or she will date based on quantitative measures, such as horoscopes, how they perform on a test, etc.
A character starts remembering things that never happened.
Stuff has been mysteriously disappearing from your home for weeks, but you live alone.
The Earth does not rotate. One side always faces the sun and is in continual daylight. The other side is in eternal night. Cultures on both sides develop around this.
You are the Grinch who hates Halloween, and your mission this year is to replace every single Ferroro Rocher with brussel sprouts.
In the closet of your new home is a portal through space and time. You accidentally travel to Mars.
A character has to choose between family and their desire for the truth.
A tree falls in the woods. You're around to hear it.
Write a story using the Halloween colors somewhere in the piece: orange, black, purple, and green.
You've done the unthinkable in the 21st century: found undiscovered land.
You canÍt believe what you just read on the scroll. You have to tell someone.
You're spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel. You're just about to go into your room, when you hear a harp playing from inside it.
You wake up with no memory of the previous night. On your nightstand, your cell phone is lighting up with texts.
Describe a character and their life using only the apps on their phone.
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