Friction and Fiction
These texts are fragments of a larger picture, moments of conflict and humor captured in isolation. We present these short stories as unfinished tales, stripping away the resolution to focus entirely on the dynamics of the scene. It is a format that demands engagement, asking the reader to carry the emotional weight of the story beyond the final period.
This initiative stands at the intersection of interdisciplinary arts and applied AI research. We are testing the capacity of digital tools to assist in the drafting and development of fiction and scripts. It is a practical application of technology designed to broaden the scope of storytelling and improve digital workflows for writers.
The genres in this collection range from the physical intensity of Sports Fiction to the claustrophobic tension of Domestic Thrillers. We also explore the lighter and darker sides of human nature through Dark Comedy, Slice of Life, and Contemporary Fiction. This post highlights the creative output of Leaf Richards and Jamie F. Bell.
Read these stories not for where they end, but for where they take you. We encourage you to use these fragments as a launching pad for your own narrative ideas.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
This diverse assembly of short stories ranges from Domestic Thrillers to Dark Comedy, showcasing the vast potential of current digital publishing trends. By experimenting with Surreal and Absurdist elements alongside Fast-Paced, Pulpy narratives and Hardboiled Noir, we are actively rewriting the rules of creative technology. Our project focuses on enhancing digital literacy by deploying AI-assisted narrative to explore complex themes within Sports Fiction and Contemporary Fiction, creating a unique synthesis of the Allegorical and the Post-Apocalyptic.
Petty Geysers of Grief
Category: Surreal / Absurdist | Genre: Dark Comedy
The protagonist is trapped in a public park during late autumn. The park is actively undergoing surreal distortions due to the manifestation of a cosmic, petty argument between two archetypal entities. The ground breathes, leaves float upwards, and objects liquify or twist. The protagonist is forced to mediate this bizarre conflict to escape.
Beneath the Frost
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Allegorical | Genre: Slice of Life
The aroma of stale coffee and damp wool clung to the air in the small, multi-purpose room at the Fort WilDenny Historical Park community centre, a flimsy attempt at warmth against the furious January wind rattling the single-pane windows. Outside, a thick, insistent snow had been falling for hours, blurring the lines between earth and sky, promising an endless white canvas. Inside, a handful of young adults, bundled in parkas and scarves still slightly frosty at the edges, huddled around a too-small table, a scattering of lukewarm tea cups and half-eaten biscuits testament to their long, arduous meeting.
Iron Under Scrutiny
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Hardboiled Noir | Genre: Sports Fiction
The city’s breath hung heavy and grey over the frozen canal, exhaled by a thousand glowing screens and the acrid tang of melting road salt. Lamplight, fractured and weak, struggled to cut through the haze, painting the ice in sick yellows and bruised purples. A low hum vibrated from the temporary generators powering the floodlights, a mechanical heartbeat beneath the hush of anticipation. Tonight, the stakes were etched not in scoreboards, but in the desperate gleam in young men’s eyes.
Heat, Dust, and Debt
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Fast-Paced / Pulpy | Genre: Domestic Thriller
The kitchen was a muggy box, the air thick with the faint, stale scent of last night’s takeout and the cloying sweetness of overripe peaches. Sunlight, bleached white by the hazy Toronto summer, bled through the grease-streaked window, illuminating motes of dust dancing in the stagnant air. Every surface felt tacky to the touch, and the old fridge hummed a mournful, off-key tune, a constant reminder of the building’s tired infrastructure and the stagnant finances of its inhabitants. Tarek, already sweating through his t-shirt, leaned against the counter, knuckles white, the worn laminate cool against his skin.
The Mire of Wakefulness
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Post-Apocalyptic | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The world was a static hum, a low thrum against Jared’s teeth that vibrated through the cold concrete floor beneath him. He was stretched out, face pressed against something rough and gritty, the smell of damp dust and decaying metal filling his nostrils. His eyelids felt heavy, cemented shut with a kind of internal resistance, each blink a monumental effort against a suffocating pressure. He tried to remember where he was, or *who* he was, but his mind offered only a blank canvas, scarred with a deep, unsettling grey.
About the Project
By design, these stories have no beginning and no end. Many stories are fictional, but many others are not. They are snapshots from worlds that never fully exist, inviting you to imagine what comes before and what happens next. We had fun exploring this project, and hope you will too.
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection is part of an experimental, creative arts and research program by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. Each chapter is an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment focused on two key areas: AI-Assisted Scriptwriting, where researchers explore using AI to generate story ideas, plot structures, and alternative story arcs to enhance creative development; and Talent Development and Training, where the project studies the necessary skills for creative professionals to manage AI and immersive technologies in production, helping to inform future training curricula. The project was made possible with funding and support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation research and innovation in Ontario.
About the Author
