Guidelines: Archive of the Unfinished

The Editor
Jun 16
2 min read

A Grand Literary Dumpster Dive (By Mr. Poopustus Himself)

Greetings, dear scribblers, doodlers, and abandoners of noble tales!

Mr. Poopustus here. Archival librarian of the absurd. Curator of crumbs. Collector of all that has been lost to time, distraction, imposter syndrome, and tea spills. Today, I open the creaky, moth-bitten doors to a brand-new initiative:

✨ The Archive of the Unfinished ✨

Where scribbled stories, uncoloured doodles and forgotten aesthetic videos that is hidden in your gallery come to stretch their limbs and, dare I say it? Live again!

(Is this true master? Can my unwritten stories be finally finding its place among the greats? Yes, absolutely, fellow dreamer)

WHAT IS THIS UNHOLY ARCHIVE?

In the underbelly of Shitsville (right next to the typewriter repair shop and dangerously close to the poetry compost heap), we have begun collecting unfinished creative works. The opening lines you gave up on. The character sketches that never made it past the second eyebrow. The dramatic monologue that got eaten by self-doubt.

We call these artists the Dreamer.

These fragments deserve better. And they shall have it.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR UNFINISHED STUFF?

Once safely archived (and possibly sniffed by my assistant, a suspiciously literate frog), your work goes through the The Factory.

A fellow artist, perhaps a poet or an unusually caffeinated playwright, will pick up where you left off and finish the piece. They'll stitch, twist, or totally reinterpret it into something new, something whole, something so brilliant it might just get published. We call them the Resurrector, equipped to get that idea finished.

And where shall it be published?

In the Official Issue of Introspect Magazine, of course. With both artists credited. With applause. With a faint scent of incense and ink.

WHO CAN CONTRIBUTE?

Writers with drafts that scream “I was once a masterpiece!”
Artists with unfinished canvases, half-drawn zines, or sketchbook orphans
Creatives who like to finish what others left behind (a.k.a. Resurrectors)

HOW TO JOIN?

Submit your unfinished work to The Archive of the Unfinished. Include a small note of why you left it. Could be a heartbreak, fear of success, printer malfunction, mental breakdown or your grandma decided to stop baking her signature cookies becauaase she thinks the world leaders deserve to chew on rocks (can't blame her).

Then, wait for the magic to happen.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Because imperfection is a beginning. Because collaboration is a revolution. Because Mr. Poopustus believes that even the most chaotic doodle can become a stained-glass window if you squint at it just right.

So go on. Rummage through your desk drawers. Find that three-sentence tragedy or that nearly-finished comic about a depressed squid. Send it to us.

Let’s create stories with two minds, one strange heartbeat, and no regrets.

With ink-stained fingers and love,

Mr. Poopustus

Founder, Finisher (sometimes),

and Archmage of the Archive