An accomplished but ineffectual columnist searches for fulfillment, until a death in the family causes him to question the family he took for granted.

A young boy grows up believing that he is a detective in an imaginary city, and he quickly grows suspicious of his new neighbor. As he grows older, he ruminates on his imaginary city.

A writer struggles to craft a story and begins to lose his own sanity when an idea finally comes to him.

When a mysterious new member joins a group of struggling authors, the friends discover that they may have a supernatural creature in their midst, who can grant a single author success above all the others—but at a cost.

A man travels around Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in a trio of crooks. He and the woman he is in love with ditch the leader of the group.

An author discusses with his friend the best way to write about a poor aunt. Their words take on a new power when he manifests a literal poor aunt on his back and draws in spectators.

A woman confronts her boyfriend about suspicious behavior involving another woman and discovers that she cannot trust anything he says.

A writer uses his relationship with a mysterious woman as inspiration for his magical realism story. But, things go awry when he begins to question their compatibility.

Compiling notes for an English essay, a sixteen-year-old girl recounts her middle-class upbringing, kleptomania, and eventual coercion into prostitution and assisting with drug use. After she suffers violence and abuse, she is eventually rescued — but the experience traumatizes her.

In the depths of his mind, a writer tries to uncover the autonomous, nefarious motivations of his own characters.