A haibun is one of those lovely poetic inventions that sneaks up on you. It is part story, part poem, and entirely its own creature. It comes from 17th-century Japan, made famous by the wandering poet Bashō, who mixed gentle prose observations with small, luminous haiku.
In modern hands, it feels surprisingly fresh: reflective, compact, and a bit like opening a window between the everyday and the poetic. No wonder it appeals to me. I’ve always believed curiosity keeps us young, and haibun offer the perfect excuse to wander, wonder, and watch what AI does with a few well-aimed prompts.
I quite often put an idea for a short story into one of my favourite chatbots just to see what it gives back to me. Every now and then I will post one on the blog for no other reason than it appealed to me. Hopefully these stories will resonate with you as well.
An experiment in AI rewriting, reflection, and creative growth.
This week’s AI Drabble Challenge began with a simple idea: combine two images and ask an AI to tell a story. I’ve used images before as creative sparks, but this time I wanted to see what would happen if I merged two, not just visually, but emotionally.
The result was a story that didn’t just emerge from AI; it evolved through it. What started as a neat 100-word piece became something richer, deeper, and strangely more human.
Welcome back to the AI Drabble Challenge, a weekly experiment in human and AI creativity. Each Wednesday, I set a prompt to inspire a Drabble, a story told in exactly 100 words.
You can use any AI model you like (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others), or several at once. 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.
This Week’s Prompt
This week’s prompt is two unrelated images.
Image 1:
Image 2:
Use either or both images to create your Drabble. Remember: exactly 100 words, no more, no less.
How to Take Part
Write your 100-word Drabble with help from an AI tool (or two).
Post your story in the comments, or publish it on your own website and include a pingback to this post.
If you can, share which AI model(s) you used and the prompt that started your process, we can all learn from each other.
Community & Highlights
Each week, I’ll read through the entries, share a few favourites, and highlight one that particularly stood out, for originality, style, or the inventive way it used AI.
This isn’t about competition; it’s about curiosity, experimentation, and celebrating how humans and machines can create together.
A Closing Thought
AI gives us the tools, but we give it meaning. Let’s see what stories emerge this week, 100 words at a time.
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!
The light, chatty truth behind what AI can, and can’t, really do.
There’s a lot of chatter out there about artificial intelligence and creativity. Depending on who you ask, AI is either a genius, a fraud, or a polite little assistant who can’t draw hands.
So today I thought I’d tackle a few of the biggest myths about AI and creativity, the ones that seem to cause the most panic and the loudest pub arguments. Don’t worry, this isn’t a lecture. Think of it as a chat over a cuppa about what really happens when humans and algorithms start co-creating.
The AI Grandad 