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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story about a character whose reflection no longer appears in the mirror. (It's up to you whether or not they're also a vampire.)
Describe a change that you think you've gone through.
Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.
Write about a time that you broke the rules.
You are granted one wish. But you have to use the wish for someone else.
Write a story based on the last text you received.
For a week or so you've noticed a stray animal hanging around your home. One day you let it in.
You work at an airport and notice the same person waiting in "arrivals" every week. Each time, they leave alone. One day you muster the courage to ask who they are waiting for.
Write a story with an open ending.
A child finds out by accident that Santa Claus… isn't real! Write about the fallout that occurs afterward.
"When I regained consciousness, I was invisible. And I don't know how to fix it!"
One person has been on the waiting list to check out a library book for months. The other person has the long-overdue book. The two coincidentally meet one day at the library.
Write a story that's set at a ski resort during Christmas.
Many action movies involve the hero jumping into a vehicle and demanding the driver to "follow that car!" Write from the perspective of the driver.
Petals fall to the ground as someone picks apart a flower and says, "they love me, they love me not."
Write a story that retells a Shakespeare play, but in a modern-day high school setting.
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