Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
Welcome to our daily selection from the ‘Unfinished Tales and Short Stories’ collection, an ongoing creative arts and research program. This interdisciplinary project was initiated primarily for the joy of exploration and to better understand the capabilities and boundaries of collaborative storytelling in a modern technological landscape. The narratives presented here are direct artifacts from our dataset, each representing a unique experiment in voice, genre, and thematic development, undertaken simply because it was for fun, and to learn what we can do!
These narrative experiments serve a dual purpose within our research framework. For our work in AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, they function as valuable case studies, allowing us to analyze how AI can generate novel ideas, intricate plot structures, and compelling alternative story arcs. Concurrently, in the realm of Talent Development, these pieces provide critical insight into the evolving skill sets required for creative professionals. By examining the creation and curation of these tales, we can better identify the training needs for managing AI, fostering the digital literacy and interdisciplinary approaches essential for the future of creative industries.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
The Scoured Banks
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Poetic / Lyrical | Genre: Dark Comedy
The sluggish river, a ribbon of murky green, meandered under a suffocating summer sky. The air, thick with the scent of wet earth and distant urban decay, pressed down on the narrow bank where scattered debris clung to the roots of an ancient willow. Humidity clung like a second skin, promising no relief from the sun’s relentless glare, making every movement a minor act of defiance against the oppressive heat.
The Cold Embrace of Disquiet
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Dystopian | Genre: Romance
The air bites, sharp and unyielding, a visceral reminder of the world outside the glowing screens. Along the river’s edge, broken ice clinks like distant chimes against grey, slushy banks. A lone figure navigates the treacherous path, her breath pluming white against the stark, skeletal trees of a dystopian winter.
Horizon’s Soft Blur
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Gritty Realism | Genre: Maritime Drama
On the storm-threatened North Sea, Captain Evans stands on the bridge for the last time, reflecting on forty years dedicated to the unforgiving ocean as he prepares to step ashore into an uncertain retirement.
A River’s Cold Reckoning
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Fast-Paced / Pulpy | Genre: Dystopian
The wind, a razor-sharp whisper, carved paths across the exposed skin of my face. Ice, thick and treacherous, gripped the banks of the old River Severn, its surface a mosaic of fractured grey under a sky the colour of tarnished silver. Every breath was a small, white explosion, instantly snatched away by the biting air. My boots crunched on the frozen shale and packed snow, a rhythmic protest against the absolute stillness that otherwise reigned. This desolation, this profound quiet, was a rare and precious commodity in a world saturated by the Stream’s insistent hum, a world I was desperate to escape.
A Slackening Current
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Literary Fiction
A biting spring wind whips off the churning river, tugging at Rory’s worn jacket. Beneath a sky the colour of bruised plums, she picks her way along the muddy bank, the damp chill seeping through her trainers. The air carries the faint, metallic scent of damp soil and something indefinably industrial from upstream. It is a walk she takes to clear her head, but today, the landscape feels less like a refuge and more like a stark, gritted mirror.
Design Notes and Applied Research
This collection showcases a significant range of narrative forms, reflecting our program’s central inquiry into skills development. The juxtaposition of genres, from Maritime Drama to Dystopian fiction, alongside stylistic approaches like Gritty Realism and the Poetic, demonstrates a deliberate exercise in creative versatility. This diversity highlights how digital transformation enables artists to rapidly pivot between distinct voices, structures, and thematic concerns within a single project cycle.
As an exploration into the intersection of technology and storytelling, this initiative proved to be a dynamic and valuable experiment. The capacity to generate and refine work across disparate categories, including Dark Comedy and the Domestic Thriller, provided a compelling case study in adapting craft to new methodologies. The resulting archive serves as a strong record of this inquiry into the evolving processes of creative production in the digital arts.
About the Project
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection was an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment in 2025. It was part of a creative arts and participatory research project by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. It focuses on two key areas: AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, exploring AI tools for generating ideas, plot structures, and story arcs; and Talent Development and Training, studying digital skills, literacy and training needs for creative professionals by experimenting with AI and immersive technologies to inform future projects. Funding and support were generously provided by the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation, and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) research.
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