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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You find a well-kept, spotless leather bound book in the middle of a vast desert.
A character has to choose between family and their desire for the truth.
An evil king has seized control of the land. The world's only hope? An even eviller witch who has the powers to stop him.
Your date finds an engagement ring inside a slice of cake they ordered for dessert. You weren't planning to propose.
You canÍt believe what you just read on the scroll. You have to tell someone.
You are in a bar when an elderly woman takes the stool next to you and says to the bartender, "Hey, Francine, make it a double. It happened again." You can't resist and ask her, "What happened again?"
Two friends are meeting at a high school reunion. They have not seen each other in ten years.
A team of scientists have successfully teleported an apple. It reappears with a bite taken out of it.
You find a note in your locker: "Save yourself while you still can."
Write a story about a family's Christmas tradition that has to change this year, for one reason or another.
Sweet Sixteenth? More like Salty Sixteenth!
You wake up with no memory of the previous night. On your nightstand, your cell phone is lighting up with texts.
It's dodgeball day in P.E., and in a desperate attempt not to be picked last again for the teams, you...
You've been asked to watch the class pet over a long weekend. It gets loose on its first night at your house.
Write about the origin of the saying "April showers bring May flowers."
The theme for this year's prom is "Great Gatsby," and you're the head of the prom committee that's in charge of putting it together.
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