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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You open a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. Inside is a handwritten note.
You're sitting at your desk eating candy hearts. You start to realize the notes on the hearts are trying to give you a message.
Emotional baggage must now be checked in at the airport.
Write about the way the sunset looks from the perspective of two characters. One is sad, the other is happy.
You find a note in your locker: "Save yourself while you still can."
Set your story at a sunny day in the park.
Write a story about a ghost hunter who doesn't believe in ghosts -- until he gets stuck in a haunted mansion overnight.
You live in a future where music in any form is considered repugnant. You find an old music box.
Write about someone discovering something important from their childhood hidden in the back of a closet.
Re-write Romeo and Juliet as a short story... but make it horror.
You hear a commotion on the playground — and from the commotion, you can pick out a familiar voice. What happened?
You're in an airport, watching people say goodbye before heading through security.
You're spending the night in an old Victorian home-turned-hotel. You're just about to go into your room, when you hear a harp playing from inside it.
Write a story about acceptance that involves a new exchange student.
A plane takes off with 81 passengers. It lands with 82.
Write a story about a young character who wants to learn magic.
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