Write a story about a town where everyone shares one unique mystical ability.Write a story about a teacher who can read minds.Write a story about a fishing trip that goes awry when someone catches something very unexpected.Write a story about an AI device with a mind of its own.Write a story about a book that has a different ending every time, depending upon who’s reading it.Write a story about a birthday wish that comes true, much to the wisher’s surprise.Write a story about a famous mythical creature or person-that turns out to be much more than a myth.Use these short story ideas with a twist to encourage your middle-schoolers to think outside the box… and to be as creative as they can! 30 Short Story Ideas with a Twist As your students write stories with premises like a Chinese restaurant with fortune cookies that always come true or a mirror that no one can see their reflection in, they’ll be forced to make up their own world-building rules and to explore the commonalities of humanity that still ground us all, even when we are placed into extraordinary circumstances. These writing prompts include self-contained ideas that are perfectly suited to explore through a short story-but each one has a little twist that makes it somehow too mystical or too improbable to occur in the real world. To promote this creativity and play to both their childlike and maturing sides, we’ve developed 30 short story ideas with a twist, especially for your middle school students.