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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You're cleaning the attic when you find something terribly old, terribly fragile, and terribly powerful...
You're on an island in the middle of the ocean. One day you find a bottle washed up on the shore with a piece of paper in it.
You're beginning to believe the person writing the daily crossword puzzle in your newspaper is trying to send you an encoded message.
You know how when you see a bear, you should stay calm and make loud noises? For this… creature… you have to do the opposite. You have to run.
It is the year 3000. The sun starts to flicker.
"He's been dead for ten years," said the little old lady, looking at you with concern.
Write a story based on your very first memory.
You work at an airport and notice the same person waiting in "arrivals" every week. Each time, they leave alone. One day you muster the courage to ask who they are waiting for.
Set your story at a disastrous gift exchange.
Write a story about the friendship between two different species of animals.
Write a story about two best friends at their first school dance.
"I have to go!" she/he said suddenly, jumping up from the table during dinner.
Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?
"See you later!" you called, not realizing it wasn't true.
Write a story in the form of a diary that journals every day in the month leading up to Christmas.
Write a story about a young couple getting into their first argument over what costume their pet should wear on Halloween.
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