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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You are part of a huge team of accountants that manages the karma of people on earth.
You're kneeling in the dirt, working on your garden when your attention is drawn up by a person saying, "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but..."
Write a children's book about diversity.
Write a story about friendship that uses holiday traditions from different cultures.
A character who loves reading finds out that their library has just been forbidden from carrying banned books.
Write a children's book that's set entirely in space.
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.
Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.
Describe your greatest fear, and how you have or have not overcome it yet.
You are a secret agent. Your mission? To steal the cookie jar back from your older sister.
You get lost in the woods during a hike. It's starting to get dark, when you see the glow of a campfire nearby.
During a group project, the class clown is stalling on doing their share of the work.
"Breaking news: a mirror Earth has just been confirmed..." was not what you expected to hear on the news when you turned on your radio that morning.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
For a week or so you've noticed a stray animal hanging around your home. One day you let it in.
Write a story about a character who can only tell lies.
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