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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You volunteer to be the first human to test time travel, only going an hour forward in time. But when you leave the travel pod, all other humans are gone.
As the sun set, the desert wasteland glowed an eerie red.
Write a story where your character is acting differently on the outside than they feel on the inside.
A romance told through a series of texts.
The one place where the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.
After searching for your lost cat for months, it saunters into your house one day. It looks rather plump.
Write a love story using dramatic irony.
You're home alone for the first time ever. Write a story about how the day unfolds.
Two strangers have an interesting encounter on a park bench during a snowy, winter evening.
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're donating blood as normal in October when you notice that the nurse taking care of you is... strangely... pale? And seems to have oddly-shaped teeth... that almost look like fangs...?
There is a fountain that truly does grant wishes to those who throw coins in it.
If a fire broke out in your home, what are the first three things that you would grab? Why?
You're on a train when someone sits across from you and begins to cry.
Two colleagues with poor communication skills have to collaborate for the first time on a project.
You are born with the ability to stop time. One day, you see something else moving when you have already stopped time.
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