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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You are a professional hoax-buster.
A sleepover goes off the rails when a group of friends accidentally summons a being from another dimension.
You start what was supposed to just be a business front for a money laundering scheme, but your silly idea is making more money than you ever dreamed.
A character's best friend is leaving town forever, and they haven't told them that they love them yet.
It's your birthday! Write a story about the ideal birthday that you'd spend with your family, your friends, or yourself.
A team of scientists have successfully teleported an apple. It reappears with a bite taken out of it.
As a joke, you use your cell phone to dial your own number. Someone picks up.
A habitually fearful person turns brave.
A drama club is horrified upon reading a review of their performance in their high school newspaper.
An elderly person finally takes the last picture on a film camera they've had for decades. Today they're going to print it.
A child was stolen, and a straw doll left in their place.
The Earth does not rotate. One side always faces the sun and is in continual daylight. The other side is in eternal night. Cultures on both sides develop around this.
Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.
A young boy working up the courage to ask his long-time crush to dance with him at the school dance.
You saw something that you weren't supposed to see. Telling the truth could fix a horrible situation for one of the colleagues involved — but it would get you fired.
A group of students hold a high-stakes competition to see who can carve the best jack-o-lantern. The class clown is appointed the judge.
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