Welcome to This Week’s AI Drabble Challenge
Welcome back to our weekly playground for curious humans and equally curious machines. Every Wednesday I share a new prompt, and together we explore what happens when we let AI join in the storytelling.
A Drabble is simply a story told in 100 words exactly, short enough to be playful, long enough to surprise us. You’re welcome to use any AI tool you like: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, NotebookLM… whatever you’re comfortable with. How you collaborate is up to you. Maybe the AI drafts the first version, or writes the whole thing, maybe you co-write, or maybe you use it to spark ideas. What matters is the process, and sharing it.
There’s no pressure, no “right way,” and definitely no grading. The goal is curiosity, collaboration, and seeing what strange or wonderful things the machines produce when we give them a nudge.
This Week’s Prompt
This week I thought I would continue with the theme of trying something different. I’m always intrigued as to how AI copes when asked unusual questions (have a read of The Prompt Experiment to see an example of this).
So, today’s prompt is to write a Drabble based on ‘The Voices in the Vending Machine‘
A vending machine starts giving out items the protagonist didn’t select, a child’s shoe, a house key that fits nothing, a handwritten list of fears. Each item seems to know them a little too well.
Feel free to interpret the prompt literally, loosely, mischievously, or in a way that makes your AI scratch its synthetic head. If it surprises you, it counts.
Example Drabble – ‘The Vending Machine’
I used ChatGPT 5.2 and the prompt was – “Write a 100 word story where a vending machine starts giving out items the protagonist didn’t select, a child’s shoe, a house key that fits nothing, a handwritten list of fears. Each item seems to know them a little too well.“
The Vending Machine
The vending machine whined like it recognised me. I pressed for crisps; it dropped a small child’s shoe, warm. Next, a house key clattered out, teeth worn smooth by doors I’d never owned. A handwritten list followed, folded tight, ink smudged with my fears: drowning, failing, being forgotten. The glass reflected my face, older than yesterday. Coins rattled inside, laughing. I tried cancel. The machine hummed my name. One last item slid free: a receipt dated tomorrow, itemised with choices I hadn’t made yet. I walked away lighter, missing something essential. Behind me, the lights blinked approval without asking permission.
How to Take Part
Joining in is wonderfully simple:
- Choose any AI tool you like.
- Ask it to write a 100-word Drabble using this week’s prompt.
- Edit it if you want… or don’t. Imperfect is perfect.
- Post your Drabble in the comments or publish it on your own blog and send a pingback.
If you’d like to share:
- which AI you used
- the prompt you gave it
- or a bit about your process
…that’s always appreciated and often helpful to others.
Community & Highlights
Each week I read every entry and spotlight a few that stood out, for cleverness, unexpected emotion, inventive prompting, or pure joyful weirdness. This isn’t a competition. It’s a conversation between humans, machines, and the imagination that connects us.
A Closing Thought
AI can generate the words, but only you bring the spark. So… how will you and your AI partner interpret the prompt this week?
Your Turn!
Now it’s over to you, can you craft your own 100-word Drabble inspired by this week’s prompt.
Post your story in the comments below or link to your own blog, I love seeing the imaginative twists readers come up with. So don’t be shy, join in and show us what your AI + Your Imagination can do!
New to the challenge? Visit The AI Drabbles Challenge Page for all the details and past prompts.
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The AI Grandad 
Gary just wanted a Diet Cola. He slammed his pound into the Snack-O-Matic 9000 and hit C4. Instead of fizz, he got a small, damp rubber chicken wearing a tiny, crocheted turtleneck.
“Seriously?” Gary muttered. He tried for peanut M&Ms. The machine grumbled, then dispensed a brightly colored coupon book for a chain pizza place that went out of business in 2003. All the coupons were expired.
He pressed the refund button repeatedly. The machine gave one final cough, and deposited a framed, 8×10 glossy photograph of Gary’s high school graduation photo, complete with his awkward haircut and a handwritten caption on the back: Still haven’t called your mother. Gary swore the machine winked.
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I asked Gemini to use different objects and make it funny
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I think this one is my favourite. It made me smile.
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Gemini did nearly the same!
The office vending machine, usually a source of stale chips, shuddered. Elias pressed the button for a soda. Instead, the coil rotated, dropping a tiny, mud-stained child’s shoe. He stared.Next, he selected gum. The machine spat out an antique house key—heavy, brass, and clearly for a lock he’d never seen. He tried it on his desk drawer, his locker; nothing fit.Finally, he asked for a chocolate bar. With a final clunk, a folded sheet of paper appeared. It was a handwritten list of fears: Drowning in the dark. Silence. Being forgotten.The machine hummed softly, and Elias knew, with sickening certainty, that this strange inventory was somehow being drawn from inside him.
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Interesting my chat gpt story was similar to yours. I carefully didn’t read yours first
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You’re right there were similarities. I wonder why?
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i guess the same prompt
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I pressed C7 for cola. The machine hummed and dropped a child’s shoe, scuffed like mine once was. I laughed, uneasy. Next, a house key clinked down, warm, useless, fitting nothing I owned. The glass reflected my face as the third item slid out: a handwritten list of fears—stairs at night, ringing phones, being left. My handwriting. The machine whirred again. I didn’t step back this time. Its lights steadied, patient. I understood then—it wasn’t malfunctioning. It was finishing my order, dispensing what I’d carried too long and never dared name.
Basic chat gpt. I had to get it to change the end and I was pleased with the second version
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