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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
The last person on earth celebrates their own birthday.
A cell phone is found inside a sealed Egyptian tomb.
A bittersweet farewell: bitter for one person, sweet for the other.
Write a story based on the last text you received.
You discover a secret family member you never knew existed.
A group of high school students go on an educational field trip to a graveyard to learn about the history of the area. But when a storm starts up and they get trapped, they have to figure out how to survive the night.
Set your story at a disastrous gift exchange.
Write a story about two costume shops who try to outdo each other with bigger and crazier costumes each Halloween.
Some fishy things have been going on at school. Write about a group of friends who establish their own detective agency to get down to the bottom of it, once and for all.
Someone who has lived a thousand years takes up a job teaching high school history.
Write a story about a series of unfortunate events that takes place over the span of a field trip.
You are an expert spy for the British government, trained to perfection. Your only weakness is that your background music alerts enemies to your presence.
Write about the origin of April Fools' Day.
A group of seniors in university have been planning a graduation prank all year. Today's finally the day.
"Pick a card, any card. But take care — which card you pull out will determine your fate."
Write a story from the perspective of your middle school self.
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