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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
A forgotten object is found in an attic during spring cleaning.
After the crash, he vanished. Some say he moved to a compound in Africa, some say he went off the grid. But the Silicon Valley genius who engineered the greatest stockmarket disaster in history is hiding in plain sight
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
Only one swordsman emerges alive from a bloody battle. And without a single wound. How does he explain his survival?
A woman drops her wallet on the street, and it falls open. You pick it up and are about to return it to her when you notice a strange picture inside.
You hear music emanating from aisle 3 of your local grocery store. No one else hears it.
It was just a regular day at the office. Then the power went out.
Someone who has lived a thousand years takes up a job teaching high school history.
Write a story about the small kindnesses that you see every day.
Write a story about the local scarecrow coming to life and going on a revenge mission against all of those people who had dressed it badly in previous years.
In front of you lie two doors. One contains your worst nightmare. The other, your greatest dream.
Your academic rival at school has joined the Art Club, so now you must also join the Art Club. Problem is, you're pretty sure that you're colorblind.
You find your grandparent's old chessboard in the attic. Absentmindedly, you move a piece. The next day, an opposing piece has been moved.
Re-tell Jane Eyre as a short story... but set it in the far future.
Describe your greatest fear, and how you have or have not overcome it yet.
You were reading a book quietly at a cafe when someone passed you a note.
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