The Human Element in Digital Ink
These narratives are composed of beginnings and middles, devoid of neat endings. We present these short stories as incomplete thoughts and emotional snapshots, designed to provoke curiosity rather than provide closure. It is an invitation to dwell in the uncertainty of a scene and appreciate the character dynamics without the necessity of a final resolution.
This work is the result of an experimental collaboration between human writers and applied artificial intelligence research. The goal is to understand how digital tools can enhance the creative process, offering support in scriptwriting and storytelling while building essential digital literacy skills for the modern creator.
The genres explored today lean toward the internal and the relational, featuring Literary Fiction, Psychological Drama, and Romance, alongside the ecological concerns of Environmental Fiction. We are proud to present contributions from a wide roster of authors including Eva Suluk, Jamie Bell, Jamie F. Bell, and Leaf Richards.
Read these excerpts as a challenge to your own creativity. Where do the relationships go from here? We leave the answers entirely up to you.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
This curation of short stories invites readers to explore the emotional depth of Literary Fiction and Psychological Drama, set against the backdrop of Environmental Fiction and Dystopian realities. By integrating Gritty Realism with the lightness of Comedic Misadventure and the growth inherent in Coming-of-Age tales, we showcase the potential of creative technology in contemporary publishing. Our mission is to advance digital literacy through AI-assisted narrative, creating a dynamic space where the intricacies of Romance and Expository storytelling can flourish in the digital age.
A Walk Through the City
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Expository | Genre: Literary Fiction
The wind, a sharpened blade, scoured downtown Winnipeg, forcing Thomas deeper into his coat. Each breath frosted instantly, a fleeting cloud against the brutal grey sky. The city’s hum felt distant, swallowed by the cold, leaving only the crunch of his boots on the gritted ice and the insistent, looping echo of a memory he couldn’t outrun.
The Scrawl Beneath the Brick
Author: Jamie Bell | Category: Gritty Realism | Genre: Psychological Drama
The spring air carried the smell of damp earth and exhaust fumes, a familiar Winnipeg blend. Lennie moved through it, shoulders hunched, the city’s grey sprawl a constant, dull hum against his thoughts. Puddles still clung stubbornly to cracked pavement, remnants of a winter that refused to fully recede, mirroring the lingering chill in his own bones.
A Catalogue of Grey Buttons
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Coming-of-Age | Genre: Psychological Drama
The sound wasn’t just in their ears; it was in their teeth. The rhythmic slap-slap-slap of their winter boots on the polished linoleum floor of the Portage & Main concourse was a frantic drumbeat against the deep, indifferent hum of the city’s circulation systems. Each gasp for air tasted of pine-scented floor cleaner and the metallic chill that clung to the grates in the walls, a flavour unique to the places built to connect other, better places.
Dust and Jasmine
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Dystopian | Genre: Romance
The afternoon light, strained through the smog-tinged summer air, cast long, distorted shadows across the plaza. The air was thick with the faint scent of ozone and the city’s ceaseless, electric hum from the overhead transportation arches. Pedestrians moved with a practiced, almost ritualistic efficiency, their faces mostly obscured by regulation-issued hoods against the solar glare, each person a solitary island in a sea of compelled proximity.
Synthetic Grass and Fraying Edges
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Comedic Misadventure | Genre: Environmental Fiction
A humid summer evening hung heavy over the fairgrounds, pulling the scents of burnt sugar, stale oil, and something indefinably chemical into a cloying, inescapable blend. The air shimmered above the cracked asphalt, a distorted mirror for the neon glow of the Ferris wheel, its grand, circular motion a tired grind against the muggy sky. Even the laughter, thin and sharp, felt dulled, absorbed by the general hum of generators and the distant, tinny music. Dust, fine and red from the temporary pathways, clung to everything, a perpetual film over the plastic prizes and the faces of the milling crowd. Jose, already feeling the subtle ache in his left knee, scanned the scene with a practiced, weary eye, searching for the familiar bob of Annie’s bright, floral hat amidst the synthetic chaos.
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
