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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You are a professional hoax-buster.
It's the year 5000 and humanity's first expansions into space, colonization of the solar system, etc., have faded into myths, much like the journeys of Odysseus. Write about these fabled legends.
A man sidles up to a woman in a bar. Little does he know she's an undercover cop following him.
Write a short story in the form of a text message exchange between two best friends during history class.
A long-standing feud erupts during a funeral or wedding.
An entrepreneur is suffering self-doubt from a string of failures, and this is their last chance.
"Do you have a minute?" asks the stranger who was reading beside you on a park bench.
Write a story based on an experience from your childhood... but set it in a different time period. (Yes, the future counts!)
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.)
It's the first day of school, and you're finding it hard to make friends when someone unexpected steps up.
A plane that's been missing for years suddenly lands at a major airport.
Write a story that ends by jumping forward several years.
You are a Nobel Prize Winner, on your way to the awards ceremony. Suddenly, you are transported back in time.
A young child discovers a passion for baking. Write about the crazy kitchen adventures that they embark upon with their allergic-to-gluten family, one that culminates in a national baking competition.
You buy your son a teddy bear. Every night, the bear protects your son from the monsters in the dark.
You hear music emanating from aisle 3 of your local grocery store. No one else hears it.
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