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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You live in a future where music in any form is considered repugnant. You find an old music box.
You're beginning to believe the person writing the daily crossword puzzle in your newspaper is trying to send you an encoded message.
On Easter Monday, if a certain rabbit emerges from the ground and sees its shadow, winter returns for 4 weeks.
A character has to choose between family and their desire for the truth.
Write a story about a ghost hunter who doesn't believe in ghosts -- until he gets stuck in a haunted mansion overnight.
The last person on earth celebrates their own birthday.
Write a story about a family's Christmas tradition that has to change this year, for one reason or another.
Set your story at a graveyard overnight.
Write a story that's a retelling of your favorite book, from the perspective of a minor character.
Write a story about a character who can only tell the truth.
You are a curmudgeonly old man whose name is Writer S. Block. You just spotted your next victim.
Write a story about the local scarecrow coming to life and going on a revenge mission against all of those people who had dressed it badly in previous years.
A superhero comes and rescues your class from certain doom. Which superhero just swooped in to save the day? Write a story about how you set out to make friends with them next.
Write a story about a group of friends who volunteer at a soup kitchen on the weekends.
Using only the setting of birthday parties, write a story about growing up.
After searching for your lost cat for months, it saunters into your house one day. It looks rather plump.
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