Experiment 01

Tiny Story Mill

The Question

Every parent knows the ritual. The lights dim, the covers pull up, and a small voice asks: "Tell me a story?"

But what if the stories didn't have to come from tired memory or well-worn books? What if each night's tale was brand new—built from a few keywords and a storytelling style that felt just right?

The Itch

When my daughter was born, I wanted bedtime to be magical—not just reading the same books on repeat, but telling stories that felt fresh. New tales every night, with that perfect gentle rhythm that makes little eyes grow heavy.

What if AI could help tired parents tell better bedtime stories?

Not a replacement for imagination. A multiplier for it.

The Discovery

The first prototype was embarrassingly simple: a text box, a button, Claude's API. Type some keywords, pick a storyteller voice, and watch the magic unfold.

But then something unexpected happened. The stories weren't just passable—they were good. They had rhythm. They had surprise. They ended with that satisfying closure that makes eyelids heavy.

Parents started using it. Kids started requesting "the mill story" by name. And I realised: this tiny experiment had found something real.

Tiny Story Mill - whimsical storybook illustration with treehouse and whale

The mill itself—where stories are ground from imagination

Ready to mill a story?

Pick a voice, add some keywords, and watch a unique tale unfold in seconds. Every story is one-of-a-kind.

Try Tiny Story Mill
For the curious: how it works

Under the hood, Tiny Story Mill is surprisingly straightforward:

  • Go backend with Gin framework
  • Gemini API for story generation with custom prompts
  • Carefully tuned storyteller styles (whimsical, adventurous, cosy, etc.)
  • Server-rendered HTML templates with Stripe for subscriptions