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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
The pumpkin flickered while you carved it… but there was no candle in it.
You are the Grinch who hates Halloween, and your mission this year is to replace every single Ferroro Rocher with brussel sprouts.
Your diary has started leaking blood. You have to find out what this means, but you have a time limit because the more blood that leaks from it, the weaker you seem to get.
A person dictates who he or she will date based on quantitative measures, such as horoscopes, how they perform on a test, etc.
Write a story about a terrible, unfixable hair cut.
Every day, you visit the same moment from your past.
You wake up to the sound of a voice. Nervous, you look around the room until your eyes land on your pet. You swear you just heard it sleep-talking.
Write a story about moving to an entirely new city where everything is new and unfamiliar.
Write a story about the unlikely friendship that starts up between a young character and the eccentric old lady next door.
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."
Write a story about a high-stakes decoration competition between neighbors vyying for the title of Most Festive Home in their city (and the local newspaper feature that comes with it).
Write a dual perspective story, with each alternating perspective based on one of these two words: "bitter" and "sweet."
Write a story about two best friends at their first school dance.
A love story that starts and ends in 24 hours.
Write about a wish that you once made.
You're in an airport, watching people say goodbye before heading through security.
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