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539 Best Short Story Ideas for Authors in 2026
Showing 539 short story ideas curated by Reedsy.
You canÍt believe what you just read on the scroll. You have to tell someone.
Write a story about a character learning a new sport.
Stuff has been mysteriously disappearing from your home for weeks, but you live alone.
You're home alone for the first time ever. Write a story about how the day unfolds.
Write a story that's a retelling of your favorite book, from the perspective of a minor character.
A character's best friend is leaving town forever, and they haven't told them that they love them yet.
An entrepreneur is suffering self-doubt from a string of failures, and this is their last chance.
You pass by a person sitting with their face to the sun, the most content smile you've ever seen on their face.
You're a janitor at a large school. People wouldn't believe the things you've heard.
Re-write Romeo and Juliet as a short story... but make it horror.
You just got the new dog that you've wanted for such a long time, but you're finding that it's a lot more responsibility than you expected.
You wake up from a coma that no one expected you to recover from.
"What? You're Father who? I don't know no Father Christmas, now get off of my lawn!"
You are traveling when you are informed by an airport official that your passport isn't valid, and the country you claim to be from doesn't exist.
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.
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