Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
This collection presents a curated selection of daily narrative experiments drawn from the “Unfinished Tales and Short Stories” project, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to exploring the multifaceted dimensions of creative writing. These pieces, ranging across diverse genres and settings, offer a glimpse into the dynamic interplay between imagination and narrative structure, serving as a rich dataset for our ongoing research into storytelling methodologies and artistic expression.
Crucially, these narratives contribute to two core objectives of our program: advancing AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting by providing varied text for algorithmic analysis and generation, and informing Talent Development and Training by illustrating the evolving demands on creative professionals. They highlight the skills required to navigate emerging technologies and foster interdisciplinary approaches in contemporary narrative arts, preparing artists for a future where human creativity and technological innovation converge.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
The Brass Mechanism
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Magical Realism | Genre: Slice of Life
A cluttered, dusty aisle in an old antique shop in Winnipeg, filled with random historical debris.
Minus Forty and the Broken Heater
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Crime Noir | Genre: Coming-of-Age
On a dangerously cold day in Winnipeg, a young runner navigates the downtown skywalk system to complete a petty illicit transaction, confronting the bleak reality of his choices along the way.
The Regulator
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Stream of Consciousness | Genre: Steampunk
A chaotic, stream-of-consciousness journey through a steampunk version of downtown Winnipeg during a -40 degree deep freeze, focusing on the mechanical failures and small human victories of the everyday commute.
Green Static
Author: Tony Eetak | Category: Military Sci-Fi | Genre: Dystopian
A claustrophobic, vine-choked basement beneath a ruined cityscape where the laws of physics and biology feel slightly suspended due to the encroachment of ‘The Velvet’, a bio-weaponized flora.
The Slide Carousel
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Slice of Life | Genre: Slice of Life
A dusty, cluttered antique shop in Winnipeg on a hot summer afternoon, where two strangers bond over a vintage slide projector.
Design Notes and Applied Research
Today’s collection, spanning genres from the intricate mechanics of Steampunk and the societal critiques of Dystopian narratives to the personal journeys of Slice of Life and Coming-of-Age, directly reflects our project’s focus on skills development within the arts. The inclusion of subjects like Magical Realism, Crime Noir, and Stream of Consciousness further demonstrates the diverse narrative techniques and imaginative capacities cultivated by our participants. Each story serves as a testament to the evolving craft of storytelling, demanding a wide array of conceptual and structural proficiencies from its creators.
This eclectic mix also powerfully illustrates the digital transformation of the arts, showcasing how contemporary narratives engage with technology’s influence and embrace new mediums for expression. From exploring the complexities of human interaction with advanced systems in Military Sci-Fi to reimagining historical technology, these works highlight the expansive possibilities enabled by digital platforms and tools. This entire compilation has been a truly engaging experiment, proving to be both an enjoyable and insightful exploration into the future of creative output.
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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