In the Middle of the Scene
Reading a scene without an ending forces you to pay closer attention to the details. These short stories are incomplete by design, presenting moments of high tension or quiet drama without offering a neat conclusion. They are pages torn from a book that doesn’t fully exist, leaving the mystery of the plot entirely in your hands.
This collection is part of an experimental program at the intersection of human creativity, interdisciplinary arts, and applied artificial intelligence research. It seeks to understand how digital tools act as partners in the writing process, driving innovation in storytelling and scriptwriting while sharpening digital literacy skills.
The genres featured in this post include Horror, Contemporary Drama, Mystery, Thriller, and Psychological Drama. Bringing these tense and dramatic moments to the page are authors Jamie F. Bell and Eva Suluk.
We invite you to read these pieces and accept the challenge of the unfinished narrative. Use the clues provided in the text to construct your own ending to the drama.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Delving into the nuances of stream of consciousness, family saga, and intense psychological drama, this collection represents the forefront of literary fiction and horror. We analyze these mystery and contemporary drama short stories to promote essential digital literacy skills. Our initiative drives the future of publishing by employing creative technology to investigate how AI-assisted narrative can augment human storytelling.
The Harlequin’s Glare through the Flurry
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Horror | Genre: Horror
The world outside Desmond’s cracked window was a blurred canvas of white, an unending blizzard that had swallowed the small mountain town whole. Inside, the motel room hummed with the dry, recycled heat of a failing unit, smelling faintly of stale coffee and desperation.
The Unfolding Grid
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Literary Fiction | Genre: Contemporary Drama
The air in Room 307 was thick, not with anticipation, but with the quiet, desperate hum of concentrated anxiety. The smell of stale coffee from Mr. Harrison’s mug mingled with the faint metallic tang of old radiators, a scent that always clung to exam days, cold and unforgiving. Outside, the sky was a bruised, heavy grey, mirroring the weight settling in Leo’s chest. This wasn’t just a test; it was the hinge.
A Breath of Dust and Forgotten Air
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Young Adult (YA) | Genre: Mystery
The air in the old Portlock Community Hall’s storage room was thick with the scent of forgotten paper and decaying wood, a musty perfume that clung to the back of Jeff’s throat. Flecks of dust, disturbed by their cautious movements, danced in the weak light filtering through a grimy window, making the already cramped space feel alive with unseen spectres. Every creak of the floorboards under their worn trainers seemed to echo, magnifying the silence that pressed in from the deserted building around them.
Summer’s Sinking Breath
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Family Saga | Genre: Thriller
The oppressive heat of a late summer afternoon draped itself over Blackwood Grange like a shroud. Ivy, thick and ravenous, throttled the ancient stone, its tendrils reaching into fractured window panes, drawing shadows across rooms that had known little light for decades. A silence, heavy and humid, clung to the air, broken only by the distant, lethargic hum of unseen insects and the occasional, mournful creak of settling timber. Jeff’s arrival was not heralded by fanfare, merely the crunch of his tyres on the loose gravel drive, a sound absorbed almost entirely by the suffocating density of the overgrown grounds.
The Salt Stains on the Glass
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Stream of Consciousness | Genre: Psychological Drama
The ferry shuddered as it pushed through the slate-grey water of the strait, its engines a constant, deep thrum that vibrated up through the soles of their shoes. On the observation deck, the wind was a sharp, cold thing, smelling of salt and diesel fumes. Gulls wheeled overhead, their cries snatched away by the wind. Inside, passengers sat in clusters, islands of quiet conversation in the vast, brightly-lit lounge.
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
