Dear community:

Welcome to Prompt #21 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 It

• Check 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

1. Write creative nonfiction stories about real life, memories, or experiences.
2. As with our fiction guidelines, we ask that articles be at least 350 words in length. Optimal length is 750-1500 words.
3. 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.)
4. Please post directly in The Ink Well community, and post your link in a comment on this post.
5. 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: Anticipated Worry" or "Anticipated Suffering" . We enjoyed reading how our writers reacted to this announcement. There was fantastic writing!

Writers who joined in the fun:

@timix648
@fragozar01
@fantom22
@timix648
@princess-dara
@ipexito
@funshee
@minhajulmredol
@dianelson
@jhymi
@faitz007
@abdul-qudus
@marynn
@mrenglish
@nkemakonam89
@icyink
@princessbusayo
@lightpen
@jessicaossom
@treasuree
@cloflo
@rukkie
@amiableamara
@lrscarmen
@ricardo993
@rammargarita
@dreemsteem
@amiegeoffrey
@idlemind
@kingsleyy
@lydiapauline
@balikis95
@royaldiadem
@george-dee
@dapomolaaaa

Honorable Mentions of the Week

Our honorable mentions for last week's prompt are:

• @jessicaossom:The Surprising Story of an Anticipated Worry!"

• @cloflo: Never Truly Healed

• @timix648: The Fear Of The Coronavirus

• @princessbusayo: A sister's worry

Third Place: Wins 2 Hive

Our third place winner is @faitz007, with his story A
anticipating worries above 35000 feet.

One day while I was studying in my fifth semester, I received a scholarship for an off-island exchange student. I was over the moon and enthusiastic about it. I quickly prepared my belongings, clothes and other personal items. While re-registering, I was surprised by an overwhelming feeling of worry, as I realized that the transportation used was an airplane. All my ecstatic feelings were replaced with anxiety. I'd never even been on an airplane before in my life, this would be my first experience traveling in a huge machine flying at 35,000 feet carrying people.
I can't describe how muddled my mind was as departure approached.
"What if I get really drunk on the plane!"
"Will the flight attendants provide a barf bag if I start getting nauseous?"

Second Place: Wins 3 Hive

Our second place winner is @diikaan, with his story The Scare For Redemption.

It was on one of those days that I saw my friend rush up to me with my phone pressed to her ears. She shouted me down from a distance and handed me the phone mimicking inaudibly that it was from the agency. When I answered the phone, I was told that I had been acquitted because a high ranking official came to solicit for my innocence and that I could come get my documents.
Tears filled my eyes as the news sinked in, but this time I did not try to hide it, I let it flow as I sinked to my knees. It was finally over and all my tears and fears were finally curtailed. I went ahead to retrieve my documents and restart my life.

First Place: Wins 5 Hive

Our first place winner is @dreemsteem, with her story And scene .

It's been a very long time that she's been hidden in the attic, and I decide I'm ready to restore her. It is my own anticipated suffering now that makes me falter in my steps as I cross the rafters, one by one by one. I reach her. I carefully lift her. She's so old now, I'm afraid that my touch will finally be the one to break her fully, and she will disintegrate into dust in my hands and then what?
But she doesn't break. She almost wishes that she could, but she doesn't. And so I hold her gently, and rock her against me.

Congratulations, @dreemsteem, @diikaan and @faitz007

The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt #21:

"Daydreaming, mind flying."

Sometimes, without programming it, we detach from reality and we mentally go to a dreamy place where we imagine our life in a very pleasant way. We are daydreaming about part of the life we want.

Dare to imagine, in a story that can become real, how you could realize your dream. Give us a beginning, a development and a happy ending!

For this prompt, there are several possible approaches you could take. For example:

• Can you imagine seeing the whole world, landing at a different airport each time?

• Can you imagine yourself receiving a Nobel Prize?

• Are you writing a story and you see yourself, mentally, autographing your books to a long line of reading fans?

• What is your most recurring daydream?
  
  

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.

See you in The Ink Well!

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