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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You just made a new friend who lives in France… but wait. You don't know French.
Write a story about the friendship between two different species of animals.
Overheard in P.E.: "It's not that I wanted to hit you in the head with the ball, it's that I thought you were a spider."
Someone steps out of your television set… and you were watching a horror movie.
A pair of best friends realize they're two corners of a love triangle — they both have feelings for the same person.
Spin a scary story that could be told around a bonfire at night.
You are in a bar when an elderly woman takes the stool next to you and says to the bartender, "Hey, Francine, make it a double. It happened again." You can't resist and ask her, "What happened again?"
You were put in charge of getting your great-grandmother a gift this year by your family — but she's old enough that she's already seen, heard, and experienced everything under the sun. What do you get her?
Write a story about a character who can only tell the truth.
Write about Christmas from the perspective of the local cat.
Write about a time that you were challenged in a belief that you had.
While spring cleaning, you come across something you had forgotten all about.
You're the world's best photographer. Your secret? You can freeze time.
Write about a time that you were lost (metaphorically or literally).
Write a story about a character who's just moved into town.
Write a story about time passing from the perspective of a young child who tends to plants every day.
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