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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You wake up from a coma that no one expected you to recover from.
The Tooth Fairy finds something unexpected sitting beside the expected tooth under a child's pillow.
"Savor this sunset, folks. It might be the last one we ever see."
It's March 31st, the busiest day of the year at the joke shop you own.
You are going home for Christmas for the first time in twenty-five years.
You were reading a book quietly at a cafe when someone passed you a note.
You come across a cheaply printed book of magic tricks. You try one out and discover the book is truly magic, and teaches you how to break fundamental laws of physics.
You are a Nobel Prize Winner, on your way to the awards ceremony. Suddenly, you are transported back in time.
"Pick a card, any card. But take care — which card you pull out will determine your fate."
Describe a change that you think you've gone through.
"Worst. Spring. Break. EVER."
Write a story that ends by jumping forward several years.
Write a story where someone says, "If only I could have met you ten years later, maybe… this all could have turned out differently."
Write a story using only dialogue that illustrates what a normal day at your school looks like.
The pumpkin flickered while you carved it… but there was no candle in it.
It is discovered that Earth actually IS flat.
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