Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
This collection of narrative data points from the “Unfinished Tales and Short Stories” project offers a compelling glimpse into diverse speculative futures and intimate human dramas. Each piece, ranging from the chillingly detached dystopia of “The Chill of Disconnection” to the tender, unexpected romance of “The Greenhouse Effect,” serves as a unique data point within our ongoing creative arts and research program, exploring the intricate interplay between individual agency and evolving societal currents where traditional notions of connection are profoundly challenged.
These stories are invaluable for our project’s dual objectives. In AI-Assisted Scriptwriting, they provide rich, varied narrative structures and character arcs that inform our exploration of AI’s capacity for generating nuanced plot developments and alternative story trajectories. Concurrently, their thematic depth and stylistic variations offer critical insights for Talent Development, helping us identify the evolving skills and training needs for creative professionals managing AI and immersive technologies, fostering digital literacy, and championing interdisciplinary approaches in storytelling.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
The Chill of Disconnection
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Slice of Life | Genre: Horror
Andrew, a man in his late thirties, is commuting home through a frigid, darkening city in early 2025. The air is thick with the promise of more snow. His usual route is fraught with minor acts of hostility and disengagement, each chipping away at his sense of well-being. He carries a dull weight of anxiety, a constant companion in this new, colder world.
The Aridity of Apathy
Category: Magical Realism | Genre: Political Thriller
On a sweltering summer afternoon in what was once a bustling urban park, three elderly acquaintances—a retired ambassador, a pragmatic architect, and a contemplative horticulturist—sit under the sparse shade of a wilting oak, discussing the palpable decline of societal kindness amidst pervasive political polarization. The air itself feels heavy and unyielding, mirroring the social climate.
Summer Street Blues
Category: Hardboiled Noir | Genre: Romance
On a scorching summer afternoon in 2025, Art, a retired man in his late sixties, sits at a small, wobbly table in ‘The Written Word’, a struggling independent bookstore and coffee shop. He’s observing the humid street outside, a microcosm of a society increasingly frayed. Betty, the sharp-witted owner in her early sixties, works behind the counter. Carl, a gruff regular of similar age, is engrossed in a newspaper.
The Greenhouse Effect
Category: Coming-of-Age | Genre: Western Style Boys Love
A dilated, rain-slicked afternoon inside a dilapidated greenhouse where Simon and Jessie have taken shelter. The air smells of wet concrete, tomato vines, and teenage anxiety.
Frozen Circuitry
Category: Cyberpunk Dystopia | Genre: Literary Fiction
In the desolate, snow-choked streets of a near-future city, the protagonist, a young tech scavenger, attempts to repair a vital communication device. Alongside a pragmatic companion, they stumble upon a third, desperate individual amidst the urban decay, forcing a confrontation with their own dwindling humanity.
Design Notes and Applied Research
The diverse array of stories presented today, spanning genres from Horror and Political Thriller to Western Style Boys Love and Literary Fiction, alongside subjects like Cyberpunk Dystopia and Magical Realism, powerfully illustrates the multifaceted nature of skills development in contemporary storytelling. Crafting narratives within such varied frameworks demands adaptability, deep genre understanding, and the mastery of distinct stylistic techniques. This collection inherently reflects the digital transformation of the arts by showcasing how creators navigate complex themes and utilize modern platforms for ideation, production, and audience engagement.
This project served as a compelling and enjoyable exploration into the creative potential unlocked by embracing a wide narrative spectrum. The deliberate juxtaposition of Hardboiled Noir with Slice of Life, or Romance with Coming-of-Age, functioned as a valuable experiment in pushing artistic boundaries and fostering versatile creative practices. Ultimately, this collection successfully demonstrated the program’s commitment to nurturing robust storytelling skills within an evolving digital landscape.
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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