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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story that's a retelling of your favorite book, from the perspective of a minor character.
A writer becomes trapped inside their own book.
Write a story in which it becomes night forever. The sun has gone.
Write a story from the perspective of a snowman who has just come to life. Plot twist: he's missing eyes.
Write a story about coming out. The ending is a happy one.
Write a short story in the form of a text message exchange between two best friends during history class.
Write a story about the local PETA branch starting a campaign supporting black cats on Halloween day.
You wake up to the sound of a voice. Nervous, you look around the room until your eyes land on your pet. You swear you just heard it sleep-talking.
Every day, you visit the same moment from your past.
You've been turned into a ghost! Now the fun part begins. Who do you pick to haunt, and why?
Your friend is visiting your home for the first time. You go to the kitchen to grab coffee and when you return, your friend tells you they just met your sister. You're an only child and you live alone.
Write about a difficult decision you had to make, and how you ended up making it.
It's the year 5000 and humanity's first expansions into space, colonization of the solar system, etc., have faded into myths, much like the journeys of Odysseus. Write about these fabled legends.
A pair of twins swap places for a day. What do they find out about each other?
Mars is the new wild west, complete with gunslingers.
You stumble across an abandoned house in the woods.
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