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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You just got the new dog that you've wanted for such a long time, but you're finding that it's a lot more responsibility than you expected.
You were reading a book quietly at a cafe when someone passed you a note.
The money is good. But the lies have built up. This empire of yours has been built on a secret, a stolen technology, and the guilt has reached its peak. You have to come out with the truth
After the brief pause that follows your mother's angry question of "Who did this?", all of you look at the cat.
While looking through old photos you discover something that unequivocally settles an argument that ended a childhood friendship decades ago.
Write a story about a character who moves from a small town to a big city for the first time.
Write a story about someone trying to hide a pet from their parents.
A friendly pranking rivalry between two colleagues in an office starts to get serious.
Describe a change that you think you've gone through.
In a quiet little coffee shop in a quiet little town, famous people from history stop by every so often for a drink.
You are a professional hoax-buster.
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 children's book about a young child who gets transported into a magical world inside of a snow globe.
Write a story that inverts a popular YA trope. You get to pick the trope.
"By the time I wake up in the morning, I want them dead."
Your new cell phone number used to be the number of a very popular personal therapist.
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