Magic on the Pavement
Here, the ordinary collides with the extraordinary, yet the aftermath is left to your discretion. These unfinished tales are presented as incomplete narrative fragments, sketching out worlds where magic exists alongside mundane struggles. They serve as prompts for the mind, creating a vacuum that your own creativity must fill.
This project represents a fusion of interdisciplinary arts and applied artificial intelligence research. It explores how digital tools function as a partner in the writing process, aiding in the generation and refinement of storytelling concepts. The initiative seeks to advance digital literacy skills and modernize creative workflows.
The genres in this post blend Urban Fantasy and Sci-Fi with the relatable stakes of Sports Fiction and Coming-of-Age stories. The authors featured are Jamie F. Bell, Jamie Bell, and Eva Suluk. Their collaborative efforts provide the groundwork for these hybrid realities.
Take these fragments as an invitation to dream. We ask you to act as a co-creator, visualizing the rules of these magic systems and the future of these young protagonists as they navigate their incomplete journeys.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Our initiative focuses on the synergy between creative technology and traditional storytelling to advance digital literacy and the state of modern publishing. Through these short stories, readers encounter a blend of urban fantasy, steampunk adventures, and the gritty aesthetics of noir and psychological thrillers. Whether exploring time travel paradoxes or the personal growth inherent in coming-of-age and sports fiction, our use of AI-assisted narrative aims to create a deeply immersive reading experience.
The Amber Hum
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Poetic / Lyrical | Genre: Sci-Fi
The boreal forest, a canvas of burnt orange and fading crimson, felt different now. A chill, deeper than the autumn air, had settled amongst the spruces, carrying with it a faint, unplaceable scent – like burnt sugar and damp batteries. The quiet hush of the woods, usually a comforting blanket, had frayed, leaving behind a persistent, low thrum that vibrated in the soles of boots and the marrow of bone, drawing two small figures deeper into its unsettling core.
The Unburdening of Lead
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Time Travel Paradox | Genre: Urban Fantasy
The smell of damp wool and fried chips clung to Lonnie’s flat, a permanent tenant alongside the peeling floral wallpaper. Rain traced thin, uneven paths down the outside of the window, blurring the already indistinct grey of the cityscape beyond. On the chipped Formica table, an unpaid electricity bill lay like a tombstone amongst a scattering of instant coffee granules and a bent spoon. The air in the room was cold, not just from the weather, but with a settled, pervasive chill that seeped into the bones.
A Prestidigitation of Falling Leaves
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Psychological Thriller | Genre: Coming-of-Age
The autumn air carries the scent of roasted chestnuts and damp earth. A small, shifting crowd has formed a ragged semicircle around a patch of flagstones near the grinning Cheshire Cat. At its centre, a boy no older than seventeen commands the attention of a handful of tourists and bored parents with nothing more than a deck of cards and a quick, captivating smile.
The Frost on the Hacks
Author: Jamie Bell | Category: Noir | Genre: Sports Fiction
The brutal, unforgiving January wind tore through Winnipeg, a relentless, teeth-gnashing beast that seemed to claw at the very foundations of the city. Inside the unnamed convenience store on Pembina Highway, the low, melancholic thrum of the ancient refrigerated display units provided a sparse counterpoint to the city’s ceaseless, frigid lament. Devon, his joints protesting with the cold even indoors, nursed a paper cup of lukewarm instant coffee, watching the thin plume of steam ascend and dissipate into the oppressive, yellowed artificial light. His reflection, a smudged and indistinct specter in the condensation-marred window, seemed to shiver under the fluorescent glare, a weary sentinel against the encroaching night.
The Pressure Valve
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Steampunk Adventures | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The air in the cavernous factory hung thick and still, tasting of damp metal and a faint, acrid tang of something burning deep within the intricate guts of the contraption. Frost feathered the inside of the vast, grimy windowpanes, obscuring the pale, winter afternoon. A cold so profound it seemed to leach the warmth from bone seeped from the concrete floor, curling up around Teddy’s heavy, insulated boots. Every breath he took plumed before him, a fleeting cloud against the dim, artificial light struggling from a few bare bulbs overhead. The silence was not empty; it was a tense, brittle thing, punctuated by the shuddering sighs of the vast machine, a metallic beast of brass and iron, that dominated the centre of the derelict space. It groaned, a deep, resonant sound, like a creature in agony, and a shiver ran down the length of Teddy’s spine, unrelated to the pervasive cold.
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
