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40 text story ideas

I test Mimicly’s chat templates with little stories, and the list got long. These are the forty I’d actually turn into videos. Each one has a premise, the first message (it does most of the work), the twist and the template I’d use. Ten have a full script you can paste straight in. They’re all made up, and you can use them in your own videos without asking.

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From idea to video

  1. Pick an idea and write the whole chat down before you open any app. Most of these work in six to twelve messages.
  2. Press Open in Mimicly. The template opens with its sample chat, so replace the names, photos and messages with yours.
  3. Mark who sends each message and play the preview. If a message flies past too fast, split it in two.
  4. Record the chat as an MP4, then add music, a voice-over or background footage in your usual video editor.

Plot twists

The whole video builds to one message. Keep the setup ordinary so the last line lands.

The drummer next door

Jess vents to her best friend about the new neighbor who practices drums at 2 a.m.

First message
ok I need to vent about the drummer next door
Twist
Her best friend is the drummer. She moved in on Saturday and hasn’t found the right moment to say so.
Template:
iMessage

Script

  1. Jess: ok I need to vent about the drummer next door
  2. Tori: oh no. how bad
  3. Jess: 2am. every night. the same four beats over and over
  4. Tori: maybe they’re still learning
  5. Jess: they are NOT learning. it’s been a week
  6. Tori: five days actually
  7. Jess: how would you know that
  8. Tori: look out your window and wave
Open in Mimicly

Seat 14B

Two strangers grab each other’s phones at airport security and start texting to swap them back.

First message
Hi, I think you have my phone. Same black case, sorry!!
Twist
They’re on the same flight, in 14A and 14B, and have been texting the whole time instead of turning their heads.
Template:
WhatsApp

Script

  1. Stranger: Hi, I think you have my phone. Same black case, sorry!!
  2. Noor: Oh no. Yes. I’m already past security though
  3. Stranger: Me too. Gate 22?
  4. Noor: Gate 22. Boarding in 10 min
  5. Stranger: Ok I’ll find you on the plane. What seat?
  6. Noor: 14A
  7. Stranger: I’m in 14B. Please don’t look at me, this is so embarrassing
Open in Mimicly

The lost dog poster

A guy texts the number on a faded lost-dog poster to say he found the dog.

First message
Hi, saw your poster on Elm Street. I think I found Biscuit? Brown, one ear up.
Twist
The poster is four years old and Biscuit came home that same night. A few months later she had puppies, and he found one of them.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Table six

A young chef texts his sister in a panic because a stern critic keeps sending dishes back.

First message
There’s a woman at table 6 taking notes on every bite
Twist
His sister asks for a description and realizes it’s their grandmother. He’s been serving her own soup recipe, and she thinks it needs salt.
Template:
iMessage
Open in Mimicly

Maya can’t find out

Friends plan a surprise party for Maya in a group chat and keep reminding each other to stay quiet.

First message
Reminder: Maya can NOT find out about Saturday
Twist
Maya was added to the group by accident two weeks ago. Her first message is a question about the cake flavor.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Horror and mystery

Short, quiet and a little unsettling. Most of these work best with no music at all.

The babysitter’s question

A babysitter texts the parents because the kid keeps talking to someone at the window.

First message
Hi! Quick question, does Leo have an imaginary friend?
Twist
The parents reply that Leo is with them at the restaurant. She was only hired to watch the dog.
Template:
iMessage

Script

  1. Kira: Hi! Quick question, does Leo have an imaginary friend?
  2. Mrs. Hale: Not that I know of. Why?
  3. Kira: He keeps waving at the back window and laughing
  4. Kira: I said bedtime and he said his friend isn’t tired yet
  5. Mrs. Hale: Kira
  6. Mrs. Hale: Leo is here with us at the restaurant
  7. Mrs. Hale: We asked you to watch the dog
Open in Mimicly

Apartment 4C

A new tenant messages the landlord about knocking from the apartment upstairs.

First message
Hi Mr. Ortiz, is someone moving into 5C? There’s knocking every night around 3.
Twist
The landlord replies that the building only has four floors, and she lives on the top one.
Template:
WhatsApp

Script

  1. Dani: Hi Mr. Ortiz, is someone moving into 5C? There’s knocking every night around 3.
  2. Mr. Ortiz: Hi Dani. What kind of knocking?
  3. Dani: Three knocks, a pause, then three more. Right above my bed.
  4. Mr. Ortiz: Are you sure it’s coming from above?
  5. Dani: Yes, from the ceiling. Can you ask them to stop?
  6. Mr. Ortiz: Dani, the building has four floors.
  7. Mr. Ortiz: You’re on the top one.
Open in Mimicly

Someone in the kitchen

A girl notices that her friend’s shared location is sitting inside her kitchen.

First message
why does your location say you’re in my kitchen
Twist
Her friend’s little brother borrowed the phone for hide and seek. He has been in the pantry since 4 p.m., eating her cereal.
Template:
Snapchat
Open in Mimicly

One extra member

Four friends on a camping trip notice their group chat has five members.

First message
who added “Unknown” to the chat
Twist
Nobody did. Unknown only ever sends one message, right after everyone says goodnight: “you left the lantern on.”
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

The note in chapter three

A student finds a phone number in the margin of a library book, next to the words “text me if you finish it.”

First message
Hi, I found your number in chapter 3 of a library book. I finished it.
Twist
The woman who answers wrote it in 2009 and nobody ever texted. She still remembers the ending and has been waiting to talk about it.
Template:
iMessage
Open in Mimicly

Romance

Sweet, not steamy. The tension comes from what people almost say.

The number on the cup

A barista writes a phone number on a coffee cup, and the girl who carried it home texts to sort out the mix-up.

First message
Hi, I think this number was meant for my roommate. He ordered the oat latte.
Twist
It wasn’t for the roommate. The barista didn’t catch her name, so they wrote the number on the cup she was holding.
Template:
iMessage

Script

  1. Priya: Hi, I think this number was meant for my roommate. He ordered the oat latte.
  2. Unknown: Is this the girl in the yellow raincoat?
  3. Priya: Yes? I was just holding his cup
  4. Unknown: I know. I didn’t get your name, so I wrote it on the cup you had
  5. Priya: Oh
  6. Priya: It’s Priya
  7. Unknown: Hi Priya. Same time tomorrow? I’ll spell it right on the cup this time.
Open in Mimicly

Typing…

After months of friendship, one of them finally starts typing something long, then only sends “hey.”

First message
hey
Twist
The other one admits they’ve been typing and deleting the same message for weeks too, and asks them to go first.
Template:
Instagram DM
Open in Mimicly

Gate 12

A long-distance couple texts while she waits at the airport for her cousin, and she wonders why he’s awake at 3 a.m. his time.

First message
It’s 3am where you are. Why are you still up?
Twist
He isn’t in his time zone anymore. He landed an hour ago and is standing right behind her at the arrivals gate.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Just as friends

She asks her best friend to be her plus-one at her cousin’s wedding, strictly as friends.

First message
Would you come to Ana’s wedding with me? As friends. Obviously.
Twist
She sent it to the family group chat by mistake. Her cousin, the bride, replies first with one word: “finally.”
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Rain check

She cancels a first date because of a storm, and he says he’ll wait anyway.

First message
I’m so sorry, the roads are flooding. Can we do next week?
Twist
He’s already at the café and sends a photo of two hot chocolates. The café belongs to her parents, and her dad is the one who served him.
Template:
Messenger
Open in Mimicly

Family

Group chats, parents learning new phone features and the arguments every family has.

Grandma discovers voice typing

Grandma starts dictating her texts, and the phone types every word, including the ones meant for the cat.

First message
Hello sweetheart period How was your test question mark GET OFF THE TABLE MR WHISKERS
Twist
After a dozen chaotic messages she types one perfectly. She knows how to turn it off. She just likes making her grandson laugh.
Template:
WhatsApp

Script

  1. Grandma: Hello sweetheart period How was your test question mark GET OFF THE TABLE MR WHISKERS
  2. Theo: grandma lol. the test was fine
  3. Grandma: Good period I am proud of you exclamation point No that is not your food
  4. Theo: is that for me or the cat
  5. Grandma: The cat period Also you period Did you eat question mark
  6. Theo: you know you can turn voice typing off right
  7. Grandma: I know. I just like hearing you laugh on the phone.
Open in Mimicly

One nice photo

Mom asks her three grown kids to send one nice photo each for the family card.

First message
Everyone send me ONE nice photo by Friday. Nice. Not funny.
Twist
Every photo they send is worse than the last. The card arrives in the mail with just the dog in a sweater and the family name underneath.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Who ate the cake

Dad asks the family chat who ate half of the cake in the fridge, and everyone denies it.

First message
Who ate half the cake in the fridge. I’m not mad. I just want to know.
Twist
It was the dog’s birthday cake, made with liver and pumpkin. Nobody admits anything until one kid writes “it was good though.”
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

Ten minutes late

A teenager texts her dad that she’ll be ten minutes late for curfew.

First message
Dad I’ll be like 10 min late, the bus is slow
Twist
Dad is late too, coming back from bowling night and hoping Mom is asleep. Mom texts them both: she can see two sets of headlights in the driveway.
Template:
iMessage
Open in Mimicly

Grandma’s soup, roughly

A student who just moved to another city asks his mom for the family soup recipe, and every measurement is “some” or “until it looks right.”

First message
Mom, how many lentils for grandma’s soup? Exact number please
Twist
After twenty minutes of vague answers she tells him to open his freezer. She packed six portions when she helped him move in, and he never noticed.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

School

Group projects, science fairs and the class pet. Good for a younger audience.

Who made slides 4 to 9?

The night before a group presentation, nobody knows who finished the middle of the slides.

First message
Presentation is tomorrow. Who did slides 4 to 9?? They’re actually good
Twist
None of them did. One member’s nine-year-old brother had the shared link open all week and quietly made the best part of the project.
Template:
Discord
Open in Mimicly

The volcano worked

Two science fair partners text the night before, right after testing their baking soda volcano indoors.

First message
don’t panic but the volcano test went a little too well
Twist
The foam reached the ceiling fan, which was on. Her mom now wants to know whose idea the dish soap was.
Template:
iMessage

Script

  1. Lily: don’t panic but the volcano test went a little too well
  2. Omar: define too well
  3. Lily: you know how we said one cup of baking soda
  4. Omar: yes
  5. Lily: I used the whole box. and some dish soap for extra foam
  6. Omar: lily where is the foam now
  7. Lily: the ceiling fan. which was on
  8. Lily: my mom wants to know whose idea the dish soap was
Open in Mimicly

J. Kim’s hoodie

Someone posts in the class server that they found a gray hoodie with “J. Kim” on the tag.

First message
found a gray hoodie in the gym, tag says J. Kim. whose is it
Twist
Three different J. Kims say it isn’t theirs. It belongs to the principal, Mr. J. Kim, who has been looking for it since the fire drill.
Template:
Discord
Open in Mimicly

Notes in my locker

A girl finds a kind, unsigned note in her locker and asks her best friend to help figure out who wrote it.

First message
someone left a note in my locker that says I have a great laugh. who is it
Twist
Her friend got one too. The student council put a note in every locker for kindness week, and his says he has nice handwriting.
Template:
Snapchat
Open in Mimicly

Peanut is missing

A student takes the class hamster home for the weekend, and the cage is empty on Sunday morning.

First message
Emergency. Peanut is not in his cage.
Twist
After hours of searching she messages the teacher, who isn’t worried at all. Peanut has escaped every weekend since 2021. Check inside the piano.
Template:
Telegram
Open in Mimicly

Work

Office chats where one wrong message changes the whole day.

Is my cat on camera?

During a big client call, a remote worker messages a coworker to check whether the cat behind her is visible.

First message
are you on the call? can you see my cat behind me
Twist
The cat has been on camera for the whole meeting. The client just asked for its name, and the contract is signed five minutes later.
Template:
Teams

Script

  1. Rosa: are you on the call? can you see my cat behind me
  2. Ben: the orange one on the bookshelf?
  3. Rosa: yes. is it bad
  4. Ben: it knocked a plant over during your slide 3
  5. Rosa: WHY DIDN’T ANYONE SAY SOMETHING
  6. Ben: the client has been watching it the whole time. he’s smiling
  7. Ben: he just asked me its name
  8. Ben: also I think he said yes to the contract
Open in Mimicly

Does this meeting need to happen?

A new hire means to ask a coworker privately whether the Friday meeting is necessary, and posts it in the team channel instead.

First message
honest question, does the Friday 4pm meeting actually need to happen
Twist
The manager answers before anyone else: “Honestly, no. Cancelled. Everyone take the hour.”
Template:
Slack
Open in Mimicly

The lunch thief

Someone keeps eating labeled lunches from the office fridge, and the team opens an investigation.

First message
Third time this week. Whoever took my pasta, I have questions.
Twist
It’s the new intern, who thought the top shelf was the shared team shelf. He has been leaving money in an envelope taped to the back of the fridge the whole time.
Template:
Slack
Open in Mimicly

Wrong person to proofread

An employee asks a friend to check her resignation letter and sends it to her boss by mistake.

First message
can you read this and tell me if it sounds too angry
Twist
Her boss replies kindly. She’s leaving at the end of the month too, and wants to know if they should start something together.
Template:
Teams
Open in Mimicly

The printer only prints HELP

Someone reports that the office printer keeps printing a single word on every page.

First message
Is anyone else’s printer printing the word HELP over and over?
Twist
It’s the intern, stuck in the supply room with a dead phone. His laptop was still connected to the printer.
Template:
Google Chat
Open in Mimicly

AI chat

Stories told as a chat with an AI assistant. You write both sides, including the assistant’s answers.

Help me apologize

Someone asks an AI assistant to help write an apology to their roommate for eating her leftovers.

First message
Help me write an apology to my roommate. I ate her dumplings. All of them.
Twist
The roommate has been sitting next to them reading the screen the whole time. She accepts, on one condition.
Template:
ChatGPT

Script

  1. You: Help me write an apology to my roommate. I ate her dumplings. All of them.
  2. Assistant: Sure. Keep it short: say what you did, say sorry and offer to replace them. Do you want it serious or light?
  3. You: Light. She’s funny
  4. Assistant: “I ate your dumplings. All twelve. I have no defense. Replacements arrive tonight, with extra chili oil as an apology tax.”
  5. You: that’s actually good
  6. You: update: she’s sitting next to me reading this
  7. You: she says it’s accepted but she wants 24 dumplings, not 12
Open in Mimicly

Plan my own surprise party

Someone asks an AI assistant to plan a birthday party for 23 relatives on a small budget, without the birthday person finding out.

First message
I need to plan a birthday party for my grandma. 23 relatives, small budget, she can’t know.
Twist
In the last message she admits she is the grandma. The family forgets every year, so this year she’s organizing her own surprise.
Template:
Gemini
Open in Mimicly

Name the cat

A cat sitter asks an AI assistant for name ideas and turns down every single one.

First message
Give me cat names. Orange, very dramatic, hates Mondays
Twist
The cat already has a name. It belongs to their teacher, they’re cat-sitting for the week, and they forgot what it’s called.
Template:
Claude
Open in Mimicly

Quiz me at 2 a.m.

A student asks an AI assistant to quiz them on the French Revolution the night before a history exam.

First message
Quiz me on the French Revolution. Exam is at 9. It’s 2am.
Twist
Twenty questions later they open the study guide. The exam is on the Industrial Revolution.
Template:
ChatGPT
Open in Mimicly

A note for the new neighbors

Someone asks an AI assistant to help write a welcome note for neighbors who just moved in from abroad.

First message
Can you help me write a welcome note for my new neighbors? I think they speak Portuguese.
Twist
The next morning a reply is taped to the door in perfect English. The neighbor teaches English, and she politely fixed one of their spellings.
Template:
Claude
Open in Mimicly

Friendship

Old friends, silly bets and the people who show up on moving day.

Matching haircuts

Two friends agree to get the same bold haircut on the same day, each at their own salon.

First message
ok I’m in the chair. are you in the chair?
Twist
One of them isn’t at a salon at all. She’s in her own kitchen, and her mom is holding the clippers.
Template:
Snapchat

Script

  1. Zoe: ok I’m in the chair. are you in the chair?
  2. Mia: yes. very much in the chair
  3. Zoe: we’re really doing this
  4. Mia: no backing out. we promised in 7th grade
  5. Zoe: she’s starting. oh no it’s short
  6. Mia: same here
  7. Zoe: send a pic
  8. Mia: ok but don’t laugh. my mom is doing it. we’re in the kitchen
Open in Mimicly

The time capsule

Two childhood friends promised to open a time capsule together when they turned eighteen.

First message
Do you remember what we buried behind the school in 4th grade?
Twist
She dug it up and it was empty. He confesses he took everything out the week he moved away, so he’d have something to remember her by, and he still has all of it.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

No phones for a week

Two friends bet on who can go longer without their phone.

First message
Day 1 of no phones. Just texting to say I’m not texting.
Twist
Both lost within four minutes. Their moms took the phones away, and the rest of the chat is the two moms texting each other.
Template:
iMessage
Open in Mimicly

Moving day

Someone asks her friends to help her move on Saturday, and everyone has a strange excuse.

First message
Moving tomorrow at 9. Who can help? I’ll buy pizza.
Twist
When she gets to the new apartment, everything is already unpacked. Her friends got the key from her mom and did it all on Friday.
Template:
WhatsApp
Open in Mimicly

What did we fight about?

Two friends who stopped talking three years ago reconnect, and neither remembers why they fell out.

First message
I know it’s been 3 years. Do you remember what we even fought about?
Twist
They piece it together, and it was about which cereal was better. They meet at the grocery store that weekend to settle it.
Template:
Instagram DM
Open in Mimicly

A few things I stick to

  • Every character here is invented. If you use a real person’s name or photo, ask them first.
  • Post it as a story. Don’t share a made-up chat as if it were a real screenshot of someone’s phone.
  • Keep it kind. None of these ideas pick on anyone, and they’re all fine for a teenage audience.

Questions

Can I use these ideas in my own videos?

Yes. Use them as they are or change them however you like. You don’t need to credit Mimicly.

How long should a text story video be?

Somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds works for most of these. If a story needs more room, split it into parts and end each one on a question.

Which template should I pick?

Each idea suggests one, but any recordable chat template works. iMessage and WhatsApp read as everyday texting, Discord and Slack suit group chats, and the AI templates suit stories told to an assistant.

Does Mimicly write the story or the AI replies?

No. You write every message, including the assistant’s lines in the AI templates. Mimicly lays them out and records the chat as a video.

Is Mimicly connected to WhatsApp, iMessage or the other apps?

No. Every scene is a fictional mockup you write inside Mimicly. Nothing is sent to anyone, and Mimicly isn’t affiliated with the apps whose styles the templates follow.

What does it cost?

Writing and previewing are free. Signing in gives three free exports shared between images and videos. Pro has a monthly plan and a one-time lifetime option, with no weekly plan, and the price is shown before you buy.