Creative Nonfiction Prompt #68

Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well Prompt #68

Welcome to The Ink Well's weekly creative nonfiction prompt!

In this post, we'll announce the winners from last week'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.

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Last Week's entrants

Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt Book

Last week's participants

@agmoore	@abigail04	@abrarhussain
@amiegeoffrey	@beckyroyal	@caithlyn
@emreal	@iskawrites	@jazclassic
@jeclyn60	@kingsleyy	@kushyzee
@lightpen	@mrenglish	@nancybriti1
@rammargarita	@rare-gem	@rukkie
@stuartcturnbull	@treasuree	@trexane
@whitneyalexx	@zino01	@zyzymena

Featured

Highlighting @iskawrites, with the story:

I have always found solace in turning the pages of books

"Permit me to spell this word before I commence with the meaning. S, E, R, E, N, D, I, P, I, T, Y,..." I saw my mom open her mouth in disbelief. "Serendipity is an English word meaning the occurrence and development of events by chance, in a happy or beneficial way."

Curator's comment :

This is Iska's story! It's a story of suppressed brilliance told with the longing for the father that understood, but is no longer there. This is heartbreaking, immeasurably amazing stuff. Please find in these words the emergence of a butterfly that will undoubtedly flap its wings with enough verve to conquer the literary world.

Featured

Highlighting @rammargarita, with the story:

From forgetfulness to reality

I kept asking her and she answered them all in the same order and without making a mistake. At that moment my heart beat fast, like the second hand of the clock, the joy I felt made me shudder. I realized that I had coordinated her words and her memory. I hugged and kissed her. Then I thanked God.

Curator's comment :

I recommend rammargarita's CNF piece to everyone. It recounts a time when her mother suffered some kind of episode, which sounds as though it might have been a mini stroke. Hard to tell. In any event, the episode left her mother without memory, and without the ability to communicate sensibly. Rammargarita applied what she knew about yoga and memory enhancement techniques to the care of her mother. When she was young, rammargarita had aspired to be a gymnast and had taken yoga, so she was familiar with this approach toward rehabilitation. Those techniques were used to help her mother regain cognitive function.

Featured

Highlighting @idlemind, with the story:

More books please

Years passed and my passion for reading led me to collect novels from various authors. And I am, somehow, fulfilling my dream of having a mini library at home.

Not only that, but because of Miss Anila, and her kind words of appreciating my writing skills, I have thought of who I want to be... to be a writer and be able to publish books.

Curator's comment :

idlemind writes a beautiful CNF about an experience in school when she nearly got kicked out of her classroom for arriving late, for a convoluted reason. The teacher wouldn't let her and others back in until they provided a good reason, which turned out to be the offer of doing an extra book report. She was delighted and had them read *The Old Man and the Sea*. Idlemind talks about her love of books and how that teacher inspired her, and how she is now publishing her stories in various anthologies.

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This Week's Prompt 68:

"Clean"

The word "clean" could bring to mind a host of ideas to write a creative nonfiction story. For instance:

Clean slate
Clean sweep
Clean break
Clean bill of health
Clean conscience
Clean cut
Clean house
Clean record
Clean sheet
Clean as a whistle
Clean out
Clean getaway
Cleanse the soul
Clean shot
Clean up
Clean hands
Clean living
Clean the air

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.
Post your story in The Ink Well Community.
Please use the tags #creativenonfiction and #inkwellprompt on these posts. Other possible tags: #writing #inkwellprompt #nonfiction
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!

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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!

Join here at Hive Onboard.

Already a Hive member? Click Subscribe at the top of The Ink Well community home page.

Questions? Ask The Ink Well on Discord .

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We invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @yaziris, @samsmith1971, @gracielaacevedo and @itsostylish.

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