The Power of the Unseen: Imagining Beyond the Page
These stories are presented as incomplete narrative fragments, moments captured mid-scene. They are pages torn from a larger book, evoking a sense of mystery and inviting the reader’s imagination to fill in the gaps of what came before and what happens next.
This collection represents an experiment at the intersection of human creativity and artificial intelligence. It explores how digital tools can act as a partner in the writing process, shaping new forms of storytelling and enhancing digital literacy.
This collection focuses on genres including Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, and Domestic Thriller. Jamie F. Bell, Eva Suluk, and Leaf Richards contribute to this focused selection of tales.
We invite you to engage with these unfinished tales, not just as a reader, but as a co-creator who completes the narrative in their own mind.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Engage with intense short stories, from Contemporary Fiction and Thriller to Domestic Thriller, incorporating elements of Literary Fiction, Supernatural Mystery, Grimdark Fantasy, and Romance. This collection reflects our dedication to advancing digital literacy in publishing, illustrating how creative technology is revolutionizing AI-assisted narrative and shaping the future of digital publishing.
A Filament Glows in the Gloom
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The wind howled a low, mournful tune against the brick and glass of downtown Winnipeg, a prelude to the deeper cold. November had bled into December with a swift, brutal elegance, coating the branches of elm trees in a thin, crystalline glaze that sparkled briefly under the weak afternoon sun before dulling to grey. Storefronts, for weeks now, had begun their annual, almost aggressive, adornment – strings of LED lights, plastic holly, and frosted window decals promising discounts and cheer. It was the first true breath of the Christmas season, an invisible pressure settling over the city, touching everyone differently, like a cold hand on a warm window pane.
The Coiling Serpent of Portage
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Literary Fiction | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Perched in a borrowed studio above Portage Avenue, a young artist named Leo observes the relentless pulse of rush hour. The late autumn sun bleeds across the cityscape, mirroring the internal turmoil of a mind grappling with a world that feels increasingly fragmented.
The Unfurling Vine
Author: Eva Suluk | Category: Supernatural Mystery | Genre: Thriller
The air, heavy with the promise of more rain, clung to the windowpanes of Trevor’s study, blurring the early spring world beyond. Outside, the garden, neglected since Clara, was a riot of unruly green – new growth fighting through last year’s decay. Inside, the quiet hum of the old house was punctuated only by the scrape of Trevor’s pen against the page, a brittle, rhythmic sound in the deepening gloom.
A Cardinal’s Stillness
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Grimdark Fantasy | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The morning light, thin and starved, bled through the kitchen window, painting the cold linoleum in weak, grey stripes. Outside, a heavy snowfall had silenced the world, leaving behind a profound, almost oppressive stillness that pressed against the walls of Juniper’s small cabin. The air within was thick with the faint, metallic scent of an old, untended wood stove and the ghost of yesterday’s brewing coffee.
The Cold Beneath the Hearth
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Romance | Genre: Domestic Thriller
The old cabin groaned under the weight of the endless winter, a timber shell against the vast, indifferent expanse of Northwestern Ontario. Inside, the air hummed with an unspoken tension, thick as the woodsmoke. A child, small and observant, lay on a worn rug, his world narrowed to the flickering shadows and the silent war unfolding between the two adults he called his parents.
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 an experimental, creative research project by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners Storytelling clubs. Each chapter is a unique interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment, born from a collaboration between artists and applied AI researchers, designed to explore the boundaries of creative writing, automation, and storytelling. 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.
