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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story that takes place over the span of the longest Monopoly game ever.
You're home alone for the first time ever. Write a story about how the day unfolds.
It was just a regular day at the office. Then the power went out.
It's your birthday! Write a story about the ideal birthday that you'd spend with your family, your friends, or yourself.
An introvert sits down next to an extrovert in the classroom. What happens?
Write a story about a pair of siblings who open up a lemonade stand during summer vacation, and the rivalry that flares up when their neighbors decide to start a Kool-Aid stand at the same time.
She was dying. She was your mother. And you remember the day your engineers first turned her on...
You get lost in the woods during a hike. It's starting to get dark, when you see the glow of a campfire nearby.
You find a well-kept, spotless leather bound book in the middle of a vast desert.
You're sitting at your desk eating candy hearts. You start to realize the notes on the hearts are trying to give you a message.
The old bus driver who drives you to work every day always tells you rambling stories about his friends, who all seem to have passed away. Eventually, you begin to suspect he is immortal.
The pumpkin flickered while you carved it… but there was no candle in it.
Write a story about a test that your character has to overcome. The test can be metaphorical or figurative.
Two elderly people in a retirement home are a secret pair of detectives that have solved some of the biggest crimes and mysteries through anonymous tips.
You are born with the ability to stop time. One day, you see something else moving when you have already stopped time.
You are granted one wish. But you have to use the wish for someone else.
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