Menu
Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.
Win up to $250 in our weekly writing contest
Submit your short story on Reedsy Prompts.
DIRECTORY
539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
Write a story about trust. Include a pair of siblings in it.
On your commute to work, you expect to see the sun rise as usual. This time, two suns rise.
You witness a total solar eclipse.
Write a story about a group of friends who volunteer at a soup kitchen on the weekends.
Write a story based on an experience from your childhood... but have that experience happen to a person or group of people who are nothing like you or your family.
A group of seniors in university have been planning a graduation prank all year. Today's finally the day.
Two people share an oddly bittersweet moment as they stop to watch a beautiful sunset... at noon.
Write about a power hungry wizard summoning an eldritch creature from a blood-stained spellbook.
You accidentally break something at a dinner party and go to ever-increasing lengths to cover it up.
It's your last time trick-or-treating. What's your costume? How do you spend the evening?
A group of villains go on a team-building retreat.
The money is good. But the lies have built up. This empire of yours has been built on a secret, a stolen technology, and the guilt has reached its peak. You have to come out with the truth
Time travel is widely available. However, you can't interact with the past, you can only observe it. On a trip to the past one day, you bump into someone.
Emotional baggage must now be checked in at the airport.
You've just made the discovery of secret playground deep in the woods... and only you know of its existence.
A character on their deathbed tells their family about their regrets.
Find the perfect editor for your next book
Over 1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.
Save your shortlist
Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!
By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.
Check your email
We've sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Short Story Ideas Directory 🙌
