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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Someone who has lived a thousand years takes up a job teaching high school history.
During a group project, the class clown is stalling on doing their share of the work.
"When i grow up, I want to..."
You just invented the first time machine in Physics — but you accidentally sent yourself to the future instead of the past during the initial test drive. Now you must race against time to travel back to the present after learning of a secret that might change everything as the world knows it.
While on a leisurely stroll through the forest, you find strange footprints. Do you follow them?
Your Tesla has stopped in the wilderness. The last thing you remember before the panic set in was someone hacking into the car's computer, steering you far away from the safety of the city. In the darkness, a light moves towards you
Write a story about the friendship between an introvert and an extrovert
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.
A young child discovers a passion for baking. Write about the crazy kitchen adventures that they embark upon with their allergic-to-gluten family, one that culminates in a national baking competition.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
Write a story about the local PETA branch starting a campaign supporting black cats on Halloween day.
A character on their deathbed tells their family about their regrets.
On Easter Monday, if a certain rabbit emerges from the ground and sees its shadow, winter returns for 4 weeks.
You wake up from a coma that no one expected you to recover from.
Using only the setting of birthday parties, write a story about growing up.
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