Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
Welcome to our daily collection of narrative experiments, drawn directly from the dataset of our ongoing ‘Unfinished Tales and Short Stories’ project. This creative arts and research program was conceived as an interdisciplinary exploration into the craft of storytelling, undertaken for the sheer fun of it and to learn what we can do at the intersection of human creativity and emergent technologies. Each fragment represents a moment of discovery, a narrative seed planted to see what strange and wonderful forms might grow from our collaborative process.
These short stories are more than just creative outputs; they are vital components of our research. For our work in AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, they serve as testbeds for generating novel plot structures, character archetypes, and exploring alternative narrative arcs with our machine learning models. Concurrently, they are instrumental in our Talent Development and Training initiatives, providing tangible case studies for creative professionals to develop the interdisciplinary skills and digital literacy required to manage and collaborate with AI in immersive and traditional storytelling environments.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Corrosive Rhymes and Programmable Daffodils
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Space Opera | Genre: Western Style Boys Love
The air in Bio-Habitat 7 tasted of recycled oxygen, ozone, and the faint, cloying sweetness of genetically spliced chrysanthemums fighting a losing battle against the metallic tang of the station. Under the simulated sun of the dome’s ceiling projectors, dust motes—real, authentic dust, a constant intruder from the regolith processing plants—swirled in lazy columns. It was supposed to be Spring, a scheduled, four-week cycle of heightened UV and forced pollination before the station reverted to its default temperate state.
Of Brass and Breath
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Young Adult Contemporary | Genre: Steampunk
Snowflakes, thick as ash from a foundry, drift down between the iron-girdered towers of the city, settling on the skeletal branches of trees in a forgotten park. The air, tasting of coal smoke and ozone, carries the rhythmic clang of distant machinery and the soft, percussive hiss of pneumatic tubes running beneath the frost-hardened ground.
Where the Light Bends Incorrectly
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Poetic / Lyrical | Genre: Slice of Life
The air, thin and sharp with the metallic scent of approaching rain and decaying leaves, burned in Paulo’s lungs. Every ragged breath was a failure, not quite filling the screaming space in his chest. He pressed himself harder against the corrugated metal of the shed, the cold seeping through his thin jacket, trying to make himself smaller than the fear that was making him huge and clumsy.
Breathing Against Glass
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Coming-of-Age
The squeal of boot soles on polished concrete echoes in the enclosed skywalk, a frantic percussion against the muffled roar of traffic below. Outside the curved glass, the city is a blur of grey slush and brake lights, but inside, the air is warm and smells of chlorinated water from the hotel pool two floors down and the faint, sweet perfume of a kiosk selling bath bombs.
Where We Weeps
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Post-Apocalyptic | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The wind had scoured the last of the weak snow from the highest point of the twisted metal slide, leaving the rust exposed like a fresh wound. It was the only patch of colour in a world of grey concrete and dirt-smeared ice. Below, in the frozen bowl of what was once a sandpit, two figures stood apart, their breath pluming and then vanishing in the frigid air.
Design Notes and Applied Research
This collection highlights a significant range of narrative skill development, from intricate world-building to focused character work. The speculative frameworks of steampunk and space opera demand the construction of complex systems, while the coming-of-age and slice-of-life pieces prioritize deep emotional resonance. The successful execution across these varied genres and subjects underscores a core program objective: the cultivation of versatile and adaptable storytelling techniques.
The synthesis of such disparate categories also serves as a valuable experiment in creative scope, reflecting the digital transformation of modern storytelling. This eclectic curation mirrors how online platforms enable niche genres, such as Boys Love (BL), to intersect with and influence more established forms. As an exercise, this collection provides a dynamic snapshot of the possibilities that emerge when diverse narrative traditions are explored through a contemporary, digitally-informed lens.
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.
About the Author
