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DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Describe yourself to a stranger.
"Say cheese!" You push the camera button, hear the click, and... that's when all hell broke loose.
A character has to choose between family and their desire for the truth.
Write about a white Christmas in California.
Think about a moment in your life that elicited very strong emotions. Write about a character going through a different experience that leads to the same emotions.
It's dodgeball day in P.E., and in a desperate attempt not to be picked last again for the teams, you...
Write a story about a character learning a new sport.
A group of villains go on a team-building retreat.
The money is good. But the lies have built up. This empire of yours has been built on a secret, a stolen technology, and the guilt has reached its peak. You have to come out with the truth
Your date finds an engagement ring inside a slice of cake they ordered for dessert. You weren't planning to propose.
A character doesn't know how to ask their parent to stop calling them 2+ times a day.
Write a story about pumpkin picking… in the middle of a storm.
Write a story about a character's first day at an after-school job in a retail store.
You find your grandparent's old chessboard in the attic. Absentmindedly, you move a piece. The next day, an opposing piece has been moved.
You are granted one wish. But you have to use the wish for someone else.
A group of friends go pumpkin picking at a local farm and have a competition to see who can find the biggest pumpkin. Plot twist: the farm has a previous reputation for being haunted.
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