Dear community:
Welcome to Prompt #22 in our creative nonfiction initiative. Thank you to everyone who contributed a nonfiction story last week.
Here's a quick overview of how it works:
Each week, we provide a creative nonfiction prompt. You are also welcome to post other creative nonfiction pieces that are not based on the prompt. See the guidelines below.
To be curated, your content should follow our guidelines, be at least 350 words (but ideally 750 -1500 words), be written in English, or another language as well as the English translation, and — as much as possible — free of errors. We also expect everyone who posts stories in The Ink Well to read and comment on the work of at least two other community members for each story published. (Thank you!)
What Is Creative Nonfiction?
There are many guides and resources online for getting to know this wonderful genre. It is truly about storytelling. The simple difference between creative nonfiction and fictional stories is that the story is not made up.
We like this definition from an article on creativenonfiction.org:
Simply put: Creative nonfiction is true stories, well told.
With creative nonfiction, you are using the literary and storytelling tools of a fiction writer to craft stories from real life experiences. Set the scene. Give the details. Profile the characters. Give us the dialog, as best you can remember it.
Ideas and inspiration:
Creative nonfiction stories can be snippets from your life autobiography — moments in time you want to capture in words, whether they were frightening, enlightening, bittersweet, or life-altering. They can be observations about life, about a time you connected at a profound level with a perfect stranger, or something you have learned along the way that made you a better person.
Do you love podcasts? One of the greatest sources of creative nonfiction is The Moth Radio Hour. Listen to a few of the stories from The Moth, and we guarantee you will be inspired.
Here are some additional resources for learning more about the creative nonfiction genre:
-- Reedsy blog: What is Creative Nonfiction? The Unputdownable Truth
-- Writers.com: Understanding Creating Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write ItCheck out this list of creative nonfiction stories. For example, one of the stories is about a funeral for a lizard named Rango.
We hope you are inspired!
Guidelines for Creative Nonfiction Articles in The Ink Well
- Write creative nonfiction stories about real life, memories, or experiences.
- As with our fiction guidelines, we ask that articles be at least 350 words in length. Optimal length is 750-1500 words.
- Please read and edit your content before posting. It makes a big difference in how we reward work published in The Ink Well. (And we have some great guidelines for improving your grammar and fixing errors before you post in this article.)
- Please post directly in The Ink Well community, and post your link in a comment on this post.
- Please use the tag #creativenonfiction on these posts.
Here are some examples of what we are looking for:
- Explore an idea that interests you, such as how childhood experiences shape us as adults.
- Write about the study of dreams and what they mean, along with your own experience.
- Tell about an experience from your life that profoundly changed you.
- Write about a teacher who inspired you.
In other words, tell a story from real life. And illustrate the ideas you share with real world experiences, memories and observations.
Here’s what we are NOT looking for:
- A picture of a flower or other posts focused on photography
- A few paragraphs about what you ate for lunch
- Recipes and how-to articles
- Life lessons or advice
- Essays about religion or politics
- Poetry
What will be muted:
- Spam posts or plagiarism
- Graphic violence
- Lectures or proselytizing about religion, politics or morality
Last Week's Creative Nonfiction Winners
Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt: "Daydreaming, mind flying.". We enjoyed reading how our writers reacted to this announcement. There was fantastic writing!
Writers who joined in the fun:
@dianelson
@chuksmeezy
@faitz007
@itsostylish
@elentiyaroberts
@timix648
@marriot5464
@lizizoo
@balikis95
@cool08
@princessbusayo
@arduilcelebren
@mrenglish
@marynn
@jetta.amaya
@dreemsteem
@lightpen
@jhymi
@deraaa
@lightpen
@lrscarmen
@jessicaossom
@abdul-qudus
@princess-dara
@funshee
@diikaan
@fantom22
@rukkie
@amiegeoffrey
@merit.ahama
@minhajulmredol
@joycealarapon
@idlemind
@george-dee
@kemmyb
Honorable Mentions of the Week
Our honorable mentions for last week's prompt are:
Third Place: Wins 2 Hive
Our third place winner is @deraaa, with his story Dare To Dream! .
The Excellent Kids Network became more than just a dream. These kids that didn't have much suddenly began to do more than expected. They began to give back and there was always a reunion no matter how far away our jobs took us.
Waking up from that fantasy was the hardest because I was literally living one of my biggest dreams even if it wasn’t real. I was present through their ups and downs and through monumental stages in their lives. I was touching little lives.
I don’t hold back when I dream these things because somehow, the solutions and pathways make themselves known the more I ponder on these non-realities. The map just seems to become clearer. Then I act on it.
Second Place: Wins 3 Hive
Our second place winner is @rukkie, with his story DREAM OF BEING AN UNDERCOVER AGENT.
In my fantasy world I called myself "Agent Silver" and what I love about being an undercover agent is I can choose to be whatever I want. I know many would think it's a dangerous job as it could lead to loss of life if one is not careful enough but I love it all the same. The feeling I would get having solved a case that many would have found difficult to do and most of all saving people's lives as the job would require taking down bad people who would cause wreck and havoc for their selfish gain.
Another thing I love about the job is their training, I know their training might be very intense but I love it all the same and most times, these agents are always in shape, which means I will be physically fit. I would imagine myself jumping on buildings and chasing down a bad guy. I would also be trained on the use of weapons not only firearms but other weapons as well. I would imagine being the only female agent and being the best among other male agents.🙈🙈🙈
First Place: Wins 5 Hive
Our first place winner is @lightpen, with her story Governing Kogi State.
I see myself becoming the Governor of Kogi State and immediately I assume office, I will pursue a three point agenda namely, anti-corruption war, revamping the economy of the state and fighting insecurity.
Corruption is the greatest problem of my State. Other problems stem from corruption. There was a particular morning that I was sitting down in front of my house and I saw children roaming up and down the street with nowhere in particular to go. On their hands are plates they are using to beg for food. (...) I read in the news yearly how billions of naira is budgeted for providing education for school age children but it all ends on paper while the fund is disbursed into private pockets.
The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt #22:
"Try, fail, try again."
We have all experienced failure. For some it is a source of embarrassment, but for others it is a good opportunity to reflect and learn.
Work on a story in which failure is the focus of the plot and narrate what events resulted from the experience of failure.
For this topic there are several possible approaches. For example:
You have lived and compromised your life for an activity ( family relationships, work, partner, etc.) that has nothing to do with your innermost longings.
Have you had the opportunity to meet someone who is not afraid of failure? Can you be influenced by someone like that?
On what occasions have you been afraid of failure and how did you get out of that feeling?
Can you tell the story of an impossible love, a failed love?
Have fun and good luck! We look forward to reading your stories.
Please use the tags #creativenonfiction and #inkwellprompt on these posts. And please remember to add your post link to a comment on this post!
NOTE: Please refrain from providing advice, guidance, or suggestions to others about their life choices in your post. Creative nonfiction is about storytelling.
Prizes!
- The top creative nonfiction story of the week will receive 5 Hive
- The second place story will receive 3 Hive
- Third place will receive 2 Hive
Deadline
You have a week, until the next prompt is posted, to post your creative nonfiction story in The Ink Well community. However, note that we sometimes do not get to all stories before posting the new prompt, so please try to get your story posted a day or two before the contest closes!
Interested in joining our community? Start by joining Hive!
We invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @gracielaacevedo, @yaziris, @itsostylish, @millycf1976 and @grindan.
You can follow our curation trail by going to our hive.vote curation trail page and clicking the follow button.
We welcome delegations! These support our community in many ways, including helping us to provide support to quality content creators through curation and contests.
@jayna, @felt.buzz, @zeurich, @marcybetancourt, @agmoore, @marlyncabrera, @stormcharmer, @generikat, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @chocolatescorpi, @samsmith1971, @grindan, @jackdeathblack, @josemalavem, @riverflows, @itsostylish, @stuartcturnbull, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @popurri, and @mrenglish.
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