Welcome to The Ink Well's weekly creative nonfiction prompt!
In this post, we'll announce the winners from last month's contest and provide the prompt for the coming week.
Before You Write Your Creative Nonfiction Post...
We ask that you read our Creative Nonfiction Tips post to learn about the creative nonfiction genre and review our guidelines.
Important notes:
Creative nonfiction stories are based on your real-life experiences.
We are looking for real short stories! Not advice columns, reports on crime or corruption in your city, observations on nature, recipes, religion, politics, or any other nonfiction content. Just real-life short stories.
Ideal story length is between 750 and 1500 words, but your story must be at least 350 words, at a minimum to be curated.
Please focus on quality content. Read and edit for errors! Use a grammar checker before you post your story.
We expect everyone who posts in The Ink Well to read and comment on at least two other stories for each one published.
Do not post stories featuring physical abuse, graphic violence, erotica or NSFW content.
My sister kept a diary that she hid under her bed. I knew it was there not only because I had seen her hide it without her noticing, but also because I had seen soap operas where they hid the diary under the mattress and my sister was a child incapable of going off script.
Curator's comment :
Nancybriti1 offers a nicely structured CNF in which she relates how she became embroiled in her sister’s illicit affair all the while trying to protect her sibling from the attentions of a married man. Eventually, it’s comes out the unscrupulous person was spreading his attentions around to any willing young girl and Nancy has the upper hand in showing her sister how easily duped she’s been.
The compound erupted. Neighbors came out, some half-dressed, others filming on their phones. Tochi started commentating like a football match. "Mama Nkechi is approaching the suspect. She raises her voice—she swings the umbrella— GOAL!"
Curator's comment :
Comedy is really hard to write. Happy080 takes on the challenge (each week) and produces piece after piece of hilariousness. This story about a would-be DJ, who is saved from falling foul of circumstance, is magnificently structured and a wonderfully engaging and entertaining read.
I went back to the bed and wondered what had come over her. I hoped she'd be better and maybe we could clear our misunderstandings, but Janet got worse as the days went by. She started keeping late nights and as if that wasn't enough, she began to bring different men home causing me inconveniences, as I had to sleep at my friend's lodge whenever her friends came around.
Curator's comment :
The CNF by Hive account@jennyzee1 is intense. It tells the story of how her father forced her to have a roommate when she really wanted to escape from complications.
The story unfolds in the worst possible direction for the protagonist but in the end it becomes clear that it is better to be alone than in bad company. Well told story.
This Week's Prompt 140
Murphy's law
Meaning-:
anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Perhaps you embarked on the trip of a lifetime, but the vacation turned into a nightmare: missed flights, lost luggage, and strange food.
Maybe a simple recipe became a near disaster that almost burned your house down.
A misdiagnosis sent you spiraling down a path of ridiculously funny mishaps.
Tell us about it! And remember to integrate storytelling elements like characters, scene setting, dialogue and action to bring your story to life!
Have fun and good luck! We look forward to reading your stories.
Rules
You have 6 days to write your story from the date of this prompt post. Be sure to check the deadline countdown.
Write a real-life story with the creative elements of fiction, like characters, dialogue, scene setting and a story conflict.
Stories must be written in English. If you've translated the post, it's best to add the original version below the translation. Do not write mixed language paragraphs.
Read and comment on at least two stories in the community.
Add a link to your story as a comment on this post.
And be sure to remember to join The Ink Well community!
Prize
A prize of 20 Hive will be awarded to one submission every four weeks.
Procedure
Two or three stories will be featured every week. One of the featured stories will win the grand prize every four weeks.
The winner will be featured in a special announcement post.
Interested in joining our community? Start by joining Hive!
We welcome delegations! These support our community in many ways, including helping us to provide support to quality content creators through curation and contests.
Find us on twitter by clicking the banner above.