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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
A person wakes up in bed, drenched in salty ocean water.
You visited a psychic for romantic advice. Instead, they tell you that your spouse has a secret.
When people die, they are transported to the event that ultimately caused their death. One day, you are hit by a car and sent 12 years into the past.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
Set your story at a noisy school assembly, where two characters are trying to hold an important and private conversation.
Mars is the new wild west, complete with gunslingers.
Write about the origin of the saying "April showers bring May flowers."
You've just lost something important. Write a story about finding it — or learning to cope with its loss.
"What? You're Father who? I don't know no Father Christmas, now get off of my lawn!"
Write a story using the Halloween colors somewhere in the piece: orange, black, purple, and green.
Write a story about a world in which spirit animals exist. What kind of animal is your spirit animal? Why?
You hear a commotion on the playground — and from the commotion, you can pick out a familiar voice. What happened?
Write about a time that you found out something surprising about yourself.
You're a bartender at a neighborhood pub. A regular comes in and says, "Do I have a story for you!"
You come across a cheaply printed book of magic tricks. You try one out and discover the book is truly magic, and teaches you how to break fundamental laws of physics.
You've been turned into a ghost! Now the fun part begins. Who do you pick to haunt, and why?
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