Intercultural Micro‑Story Research Pack

Compact reference: prompt, ranked list, analysis, templates, live test, and JSON artifacts. Created by GPT-5: 2025‑09‑04

Original Prompt

User: “What was the most successful short story ever written? Make a list of the top 20 and then let's go on a deep dive and see if there are archetypal patterns to the themes, the structure, and the conclusions, which could be drawn out and then used as a template for building an automated micro‑story creation process. Use a folk taxonomy of popularity to identify very, very short stories with enduring engagement across multicultural populations.”

Top 20 Ultra‑Shorts (folk‑taxonomy of diffusion)

The Tortoise and the Hare — endurance vs. haste; proverbified.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf — lying → loss of trust.
The Ant and the Grasshopper — prudence vs. improvidence.
The Good Samaritan — out‑group compassion; legal/cultural uptake.
The Prodigal Son — return and forgiveness.
The Blind Men and the Elephant — partial truth; epistemic humility.
The Chinese Farmer (“Maybe yes, maybe no”) — non‑attachment to fortune.
Empty Your Cup — unlearning before learning.
Muddy Road — spirit vs. rule‑clinging.
Nasruddin: Searching Under the Streetlamp — convenience bias in inquiry.
Nasruddin: The Smell of Soup / Sound of Money — symbolic justice.
Appointment in Samarra (Near Eastern parable; Maugham retelling) — inevitability/fate.
This Too Shall Pass (ring tale) — impermanence.
The Monkey and the Crocodile (Panchatantra) — wit over force; betrayal.
Stone Soup — collective action via signaling.
The Scorpion and the Frog — character as destiny.
Two Wolves (popularly “Cherokee,” attribution contested) — attention shapes character.
Hemingway’s six‑word story (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”; attribution disputed) — ellipsis.
Monterroso: “El Dinosaurio” — minimalism; lingering presence.
Borges: “On Exactitude in Science” — map/territory satire.

Method: weights diffusion, proverb‑formation, curricular presence, brevity, adaptability, and meme‑life. Inevitably culture‑skewed; includes attribution caveats.

Archetypal Analysis

Cast archetypes (minimal cast, maximal function)

Trickster / Ingenious Weakling defeats stronger foe via wit.
Naïf / Rule‑Follower exposes limits of pride or rigid norms.
Compassionate Outsider violates boundary to reveal virtue.
Sage / Teacher performs paradox to induce insight.
Authority / Fate enacts inevitability.

Conflict dyads

Haste vs. steadiness; pride vs. humility; appearance vs. reality; law vs. spirit;
fortune vs. judgment; part vs. whole; appetite vs. prudence; trust vs. deception;
cooperation vs. self‑interest; nature vs. choice.

Micro‑structures (≤150 words)

Fable curve: Setup → Contest → Reversal → Explicit moral.
Parable hinge: Ordinary scene → Norm violation → Reader implication.
Koan cut: Expectation → Paradoxical act/saying → Cognitive stall.
Ironic snap: Desire → Plan → Nature/character/fate closes trap.
Allegorical lens: Many partial reports → Dispute → Meta‑comment.

Endings that stick

Explicit maxim; paradox/question; twist/inevitability; proverb‑seed; elliptical void.

Stylistic invariants

Concrete nouns, few modifiers; 1–3 characters; single setting; one causal line.
Portable objects (path, vessel, bowl, coin, ring, lamp); dialogic crystallization ≤1 line.

Generative Template (Operational)

Parameters

archetype ∈ {trickster, sage, outsider, naif, judge, caretaker, partner, rival, fate}
conflict_dyads ⟂ cultural markers; select 1–3.
structure ∈ {fable, parable, koan, irony, allegory}
setting ∈ {path, threshold, gathering_place, workplace, water_edge, field, marketplace, court, home, crossroads}
object_motifs ⊂ {vessel, rope, coin, map, bowl, cloak, stick, lamp, scale, grain, salt, mirror, ring}
ending_mode ∈ {explicit_moral, implicit_beat, paradox, twist, ellipsis}
word_cap (6–200); register ∈ {oral, laconic, lyrical_sparse}; name_policy ∈ {none, generic, role_titles}

Beat maps

Fable: (1) State contest; (2) Unequal odds; (3) Underdog tactic; (4) Outcome; (5) Moral ≤12 words.
Parable: (1) Ordinary task; (2) Norm set; (3) Quiet inversion; (4) One inference sentence.
Koan: (1) Earnest question; (2) Non‑sequitur action/image; (3) No explanation.
Irony: (1) Clear desire; (2) Plan aligned with flaw; (3) Flaw triggers downfall; (4) Necessity line.
Allegory: (1) Many partial reports; (2) Dispute; (3) Meta‑image on limits of knowing.

Constraint checks

≤6 sentences total; ≤2 proper nouns (prefer 0); imagery domains: body, weather, food, tools, path, light/dark, time.
Translation‑robust: avoid idioms/slang; concrete nouns & strong verbs only.

Surface realizer (pseudocode)

select archetype + conflict_dyads
select structure → load beats
instantiate setting + motifs → 1–2 vivid images
write beats with concrete nouns and strong verbs
apply ending_mode (moral / paradox / twist / ellipsis)
enforce word_cap and sentence caps
self‑check: clarity, compression, transferability, aftertaste, iconicity

Live Test: Five Micro‑Stories (culture‑agnostic rendering)

1) Trickster (Fable, irony ending)

At a gathering place, a wily seller stacked shimmering crystals on a beast. A buyer praised the bargain and purchased double. The seller smiled; the buyer had no rope strong enough. By noon, the crystals were gone to air. The buyer paid for weight he never carried.

2) Sage (Parable, implicit ending)

A traveler asked an elder how to trade well in an uncertain season. “Bring half to the square, keep half in your hand,” she said. The traveler spread everything on the mat and shouted for buyers. When the wind rose, nothing remained. The elder kept walking.

3) Outsider (Koan‑tinged parable)

A stranger entered a marketplace with a bowl of sand. “Who will buy the desert?” he asked. Laughter followed him from stall to stall. At dusk, dust buried the grain. He left unsold; every trader felt cheated.

4) Naïf (Irony twist)

A boy promised to sell sweetness cheaper than all others. Crowds came; he dipped gourds until the pot was empty. Only then did he learn the pot was borrowed. He owed more than he earned.

5) Fate / inevitability (Allegory mode)

Five sellers argued whose measure was fairest. Each poured a handful into a shared pot for judging. Before they agreed, a hungry creature wandered through and swallowed everything. They cursed one another; the creature grew fat. That evening, someone else sold it.

JSON Schema (culture‑agnostic)

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "title": "Intercultural Micro-Story Spec",
  "description": "Culture-agnostic template for generating ultra-short stories using archetypal structures and endings.",
  "type": "object",
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "required": [
    "archetype", "conflict_dyads", "structure", "setting",
    "object_motifs", "ending_mode", "word_cap", "register", "name_policy"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "version": {"type": "string", "default": "1.0.0"},
    "random_seed": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 0},
    "language": {"type": "string", "default": "en"},
    "archetype": {"type": "string", "enum": [
      "trickster", "sage", "outsider", "naif", "judge", "caretaker", "partner", "rival", "fate"
    ]},
    "conflict_dyads": {"type": "array", "minItems": 1, "uniqueItems": true, "items": {
      "type": "string", "enum": [
        "haste_vs_steadiness", "pride_vs_humility", "appearance_vs_reality", "rule_vs_spirit",
        "fortune_vs_judgment", "part_vs_whole", "appetite_vs_prudence", "trust_vs_deception",
        "cooperation_vs_self_interest", "nature_vs_choice"
      ]}},
    "structure": {"type": "string", "enum": ["fable", "parable", "koan", "irony", "allegory"]},
    "setting": {"type": "string", "enum": [
      "path", "threshold", "gathering_place", "workplace", "water_edge", "field", "marketplace", "court", "home", "crossroads"
    ]},
    "object_motifs": {"type": "array", "minItems": 1, "maxItems": 3, "uniqueItems": true, "items": {"type": "string", "enum": [
      "vessel", "rope", "coin", "map", "bowl", "cloak", "stick", "lamp", "scale", "grain", "salt", "mirror", "ring"
    ]}},
    "ending_mode": {"type": "string", "enum": ["explicit_moral", "implicit_beat", "paradox", "twist", "ellipsis"]},
    "word_cap": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 6, "maximum": 200},
    "register": {"type": "string", "enum": ["oral", "laconic", "lyrical_sparse"]},
    "name_policy": {"type": "string", "enum": ["none", "generic", "role_titles"]},
    "proper_noun_cap": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 2, "default": 0},
    "moral_line_if_needed": {"type": "string", "maxLength": 120},
    "beat_template": {"type": "array", "minItems": 3, "maxItems": 6, "items": {"type": "object", "required": ["label", "goal"], "additionalProperties": false, "properties": {
      "label": {"type": "string"},
      "goal": {"type": "string", "maxLength": 140},
      "max_sentences": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 3}
    }}, "description": "Abstract beat instructions; no culture-bound content."},
    "constraints": {"type": "object", "additionalProperties": false, "properties": {
      "max_sentences_total": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 8, "default": 6},
      "ban_list": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}},
      "imagery_domain": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string", "enum": ["body", "weather", "food", "tools", "path", "light_dark", "time"]},
        "default": ["body", "weather", "food", "tools", "path"]}
    }}
  }
}

Example Instances (5)

[
  {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "random_seed": 101,
    "language": "en",
    "archetype": "trickster",
    "conflict_dyads": ["trust_vs_deception", "appetite_vs_prudence"],
    "structure": "fable",
    "setting": "gathering_place",
    "object_motifs": ["vessel", "rope"],
    "ending_mode": "twist",
    "word_cap": 110,
    "register": "laconic",
    "name_policy": "role_titles",
    "proper_noun_cap": 0,
    "beat_template": [
      {"label": "setup", "goal": "State a simple exchange at a gathering place.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "contest", "goal": "Stronger party overreaches; weaker uses wit.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "reversal", "goal": "Outcome flips by overlooked constraint (weight, time, capacity).", "max_sentences": 2}
    ],
    "constraints": {
      "max_sentences_total": 6,
      "ban_list": ["nation", "tribe", "city", "brand"],
      "imagery_domain": ["food", "tools", "path"]
    }
  },
  {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "random_seed": 202,
    "language": "en",
    "archetype": "sage",
    "conflict_dyads": ["appearance_vs_reality", "fortune_vs_judgment"],
    "structure": "parable",
    "setting": "field",
    "object_motifs": ["grain", "cloak"],
    "ending_mode": "implicit_beat",
    "word_cap": 100,
    "register": "oral",
    "name_policy": "none",
    "proper_noun_cap": 0,
    "beat_template": [
      {"label": "ordinary_task", "goal": "Work under uncertain conditions.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "inversion", "goal": "Quiet norm violation reveals prudence.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "implication", "goal": "A single image that forces inference.", "max_sentences": 2}
    ],
    "constraints": {
      "max_sentences_total": 6,
      "ban_list": ["harvest_festival", "named_months"],
      "imagery_domain": ["weather", "food", "time"]
    }
  },
  {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "random_seed": 303,
    "language": "en",
    "archetype": "outsider",
    "conflict_dyads": ["part_vs_whole", "appearance_vs_reality"],
    "structure": "allegory",
    "setting": "marketplace",
    "object_motifs": ["grain", "scale", "mirror"],
    "ending_mode": "ellipsis",
    "word_cap": 120,
    "register": "laconic",
    "name_policy": "generic",
    "proper_noun_cap": 0,
    "beat_template": [
      {"label": "many_reports", "goal": "Several voices make partial claims.", "max_sentences": 3},
      {"label": "dispute", "goal": "Disagreement over measure or taste.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "meta_image", "goal": "One image suggests limits of knowing.", "max_sentences": 1}
    ],
    "constraints": {
      "max_sentences_total": 6,
      "ban_list": ["currency_names"],
      "imagery_domain": ["tools", "food", "light_dark"]
    }
  },
  {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "random_seed": 404,
    "language": "en",
    "archetype": "naif",
    "conflict_dyads": ["pride_vs_humility", "cooperation_vs_self_interest"],
    "structure": "irony",
    "setting": "workplace",
    "object_motifs": ["coin", "vessel"],
    "ending_mode": "twist",
    "word_cap": 90,
    "register": "oral",
    "name_policy": "role_titles",
    "proper_noun_cap": 0,
    "beat_template": [
      {"label": "desire", "goal": "Protagonist promises too much.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "plan", "goal": "Crowd response amplifies the flaw.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "inevitable_cost", "goal": "Debt or loss exceeds gain.", "max_sentences": 2}
    ],
    "constraints": {
      "max_sentences_total": 6,
      "ban_list": ["brand", "device_names"],
      "imagery_domain": ["tools", "food", "time"]
    }
  },
  {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "random_seed": 505,
    "language": "en",
    "archetype": "fate",
    "conflict_dyads": ["nature_vs_choice", "trust_vs_deception"],
    "structure": "allegory",
    "setting": "crossroads",
    "object_motifs": ["ring", "map"],
    "ending_mode": "implicit_beat",
    "word_cap": 110,
    "register": "laconic",
    "name_policy": "none",
    "proper_noun_cap": 0,
    "beat_template": [
      {"label": "claims", "goal": "Several parties claim value or virtue.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "incident", "goal": "Small creature or chance act alters outcome.", "max_sentences": 2},
      {"label": "aftermath", "goal": "Benefit accrues elsewhere; no direct blame.", "max_sentences": 2}
    ],
    "constraints": {
      "max_sentences_total": 6,
      "ban_list": ["regional_animals"],
      "imagery_domain": ["path", "tools", "time"]
    }
  }
]

Downloads

JSON Schema JSON Instances

Files are bundled from this session for quick reuse in your pipeline.

Implementation Notes

Use random_seed to stabilize outputs for A/B testing.
Enforce proper_noun_cap = 0 to maintain culture‑agnostic tone.
Prefer implicit_beat or twist endings for stronger aftertaste in ≤120 words.

Video (Implementation Output)

There's so many glitches errors deformities flaws flubs mistakes trips and meh in this brief video I can't evn list them. But that's what you get when you use all footage and don't throw anything out.

The primary aim of this exercise was to see if using a JSON based on GPT-5's analysis of micro-story archetype features could inform contemporary micro-video storytelling. The answer: perhaps.

Prompt to Gemini 2.5: "pls create a microstory based on the uploaded JSON structure, but keep it international archetypal and set it out as a dialog between 2 speakers. Each speaker must be fully intimately and completely described at a visual level with a text-to-image prompt; and then the dialog assigned to them to be spoken rapidly. The dialog shld be succinct."

#whole-AI-use (almost)

Video: Veo3
Audio: Suno
JSON: GPT-5
Human: Jhave
Prompts: Gemini 2.5