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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story based on an experience from your childhood... but have that experience happen to a person or group of people who are nothing like you or your family.
Write a story about a character picking a lunch table on their first day at a new school.
You are an astronaut spending your last few hours on Earth before a journey into space.
You caught the girl in classroom 3B stealing your favorite eraser, which means war.
Write a story inspired by a photo on Instagram.
You wake up unable to say a word, but can all of a sudden write the most amazing music.
Write a story about a family who goes pumpkin picking, only to discover that at some point their prize pumpkins have been mysteriously switched with others from the patch. What happens next?
You are a space kitty, traveling from planet to planet. You write a letter home and this is what it says.
Write a story about living a lie. You get to choose the lie.
As the floor trembles and the walls shake, you know there is only one way to survive.
You just discovered that you can teleport into one Hallmark Christmas rom-com of your choosing. Which movie do you choose, and what happens differently in the movie because of your arrival?
It's your last time trick-or-treating. What's your costume? How do you spend the evening?
Your mom has just sat you down and told you that you'll have a baby sister.
You thought you were the last person left on Earth. Today you found out that might not be true.
You are the only person who has to go into work on a public holiday.
Write a story from the perspective of a snowman who has just come to life. Plot twist: he's missing eyes.
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