The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #162

_{Source: Pixabay}

Welcome to the Weekly Fiction Prompt

Hello community members! Thank you for joining our weekly writing prompt! If you're new, be sure to check out our community rules before posting in The Ink Well. (You can find them at the top of our home page. And you will find all kinds of great resources for fiction writers in our catalog of fiction writing tips.

Stories from the Previous Week

Thank you to who posted a story for last week's prompt: "Pickle":

• @zino01
• @marriot5464
• @iskawrites
• @samiwrites
• @abigial04
• @gabmr
• @popurri
• @mrenglish
• @sabrinah
• @menace123
• @ukrajpoot
• @marynn
• @chm-writes
• @lightpen
• @amarachi22
• @captainman
• @rinconpoetico7
• @reblogme
• @fashtioluwa
• @balikis95
• @ovey10
• @rare-gem
• @loveth97
• @jazclassic
• @kristowe
• @cedujem
• @george-dee
• @kei2
• @emreal
• @kingsleyy
• @trexane
• @chuksmeezy
• @fashtioluwa
• @hazmat
• @jjmusa2004
• @seki1
• @bipolar95
• @nftseller19

Author Shout-outs

We'd like to call out a few stories that got high marks from our curators.

@seki1

What a Pickle

Curator comment:

Seki1 demonstrates a writing fluency that is a clear indication of an avid reader. His dialogue is casual and believable. His scene descriptions are so clearly mapped that we can see them as he describes them. In this piece, which is humorous, at least one scene borders on the slapstick, and it works really well. The story is written in response to the pickle prompt and it is about a man who is cooking dinner for a visiting sister. He has put himself out as a master chef, when in reality he is merely following recipes in a book. It becomes obvious he really doesn't know much about cooking. His wife plays a trick on him when she brings pickles home for his planned salad, instead of cucumbers. In the end, the confused husband has to beg his wife to save his salad. She demands a bribe in return. It is a terrific story and has the markings of a classic farce.

@popurri

The Transformation

Curator comment:

Popurri delivers a highly imaginative fiction about creatures that look like sea pickles and live on a dying planet in the universe. Scientists are tasked with discovering the truth about a planet in their system that has been shrouded in mist for decades (A++ for imagination). Said scientists are sent to the planet to discover more. The scientists find a weird colony of green-gray creatures who make weird sounds and move as a single mass. Lo and behold, they are aggressive creatures who spew brown liquid that turns the victim into one of them.

@gabmr

Wingless Link-up

Curator comment:

If you want a chuckle, or at least a smile, read gabmr's story. A young man, Tyson Herrera, has given up on finding romance in his life. Finally, one day, he gets hit in the face with a flyer which announces, "You're invited to the celebration of love. We're expecting you at Walrock Street 135." Tyson interprets this as a divine message. He spruces up, including getting his teeth whitened, and shows up at Walrock Street 135. What he finds is a church with a wedding in progress. People inside think he's drunk, but suddenly the bride speaks up and says she's relieved for the interruption because she doesn't love the groom and her parents were forcing her to marry. She leaves with Tyson. They kiss on a bridge and separate, never to see each other again. Tyson, however, is inspired to look for love anew. So clever!

@kei2

Makea's Ascension

Curator comment:

kei2 writes a charming fantasy tale involving magic, horses, the legacy of a beloved grandmother and an important race. Beautifully told.

Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week

This week's prompt is: "You only live once."

What to do with this prompt? Here are some ideas for you!

1. This is an expression that means one must "seize the day." (Carpe diem.) We only live once (at least in most believe systems), so why not take risks to further your goals?
2. "You only live once" is also used to indicate that there is no time like the present to make a decision, or make a choice. For example, if two people are deciding whether they can afford a vacation to the tropics, one might say "Well, you only live once! Let's do it!"
3. An interesting idea for a story might be for a character to feel that they have lived life in a reserved, timid way. Something that happens seems to wake them up and make them realize what they are missing out on in life.

We look forward to seeing what your imagination comes up with! Be sure to review the Writing Prompt Guidelines below.

Remember, as always, we are looking for the elements of story. These include:

• Great first lines
• Good settings
• Well-developed characters
• Integration of action, dialogue and narrative
• A conflict that intrigues the reader
• A "story arc" which results in the resolution of the conflict and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion
• And of course, we are looking for well-edited stories that are not littered with typos or grammatical errors

You can find more on all of these topics in the catalog of fiction writing tips.

If you don't feel inspired by this prompt or the featured image, feel free to peruse any of our past prompts or our collection of idea-generators:

• 50 Loglines
• 50 Story Ideas
• 50 Imagination Ticklers

Writing Prompt Guidelines:

1. See The Ink Well FAQ: Before you post in The Ink Well, we ask that you read our FAQ post to familiarize yourself with our important community rules and guidelines.
2. Story link: Please be sure to post your story in The Ink Well community, and post a link to your story in a comment on this post.
3. Hashtags: Please use these hashtags: #fiction #writing #inkwellprompt #theinkwell — as well as #dreemport, if you are also posting your story to the DreemPort site.
4. Community support: When you post in The Ink Well, please be sure to visit the work of at least two other community members and comment on their work.
5. Title: The title is up to you. You can come up with any title you wish. You do not need to name it after the prompt. Please do use the prompt word(s) within the story.
6. Images: Please only use images from license free and creative commons sites, like Pixabay, Unsplash and Pexels. Images you find on the Internet are copyright protected and cannot be used. Be sure to provide all image source links.
7. Length: We request that story word counts are a maximum of 1,500 words in length and ideally 750-1000 words. This is just a guideline. Longer stories are okay too, but they tend to get fewer readers. Additionally, The Ink Well admins appreciate keeping to that maximum story length for our time management. (Note: We generally consider stories less than 750 words "too short!")
8. Translations: If you post a story that has been translated from another language, please include both the English version and the translation.

Reminders: Be sure to also read our community rules. As always, please avoid violent, gory, bloody, brutal, sexist or racist themes and language, NSFW (not safe for work) stories like erotica, stories with a political or religious agenda, and stories featuring abuse of any kind. (We have a complete article about The Ink Well stance on violence and brutality for more information.) And do NOT use AI tools to write your stories. You must provide your own unique content.

Past Prompts

Here are the past prompts if you would like to use them or refer back to them:
_{#1: Heart and Soul; #2: The moment when...; #3: Beauty with a twist; #4: The Way Home; #5: A Matter of Time; #6 50 Story Ideas; #7 The Library; #8 All the way to tomorrow; #9 Legend; #10 Three Words; #11 World Building; #12 Childhood Summers; #13 50 Imagination Ticklers; #14 Railroad; #15 Cats - 750 words; #16 Your Birthday; #17 Action, Dialog and Narrative; #18 Change; #19 Tea Time or Tee Time?; #20 Summer Camp; #21 Main Street; #22 Fireworks; #23 Picnic; #24 Run; #25 A word of advice; #26 Winding road; #27 Mirror; #28 Shipwreck; #29 School Notes; #30 Three Words: Scooter, River, Midnight; #31 Flash Fiction Contest; #32 A Fork in the Road; #33 Shadows; #34 Three Words: Island, Witch, Cake; #35 Full Moon; #36 Graveyard; #37 Jack-o-Lantern; #38 Family Ties; #39 Longing; #40 Feast; #41 Gift; #42 Season of Light; #43 Believe; #44 Elf; #45 Holiday; #46 New Year; #47 Unlikely Hero; #48 Inheritance; #49 Under the Light of the Moon; #50 Three Words: Shoes, Mood, Adventure; #51 They're Here; #52 Artist; #53 Headlights; #54 Tomorrow; #55 Lense; #56 Perfection; #57 Making and Breaking Rules; #58 A Reckoning; #59 Blossom; #60 Temptation; #61 Happiness; #62 Footprint; #63 Frequency; #64 Sailing; #65 Fortune; #66 Worry; #67 Adventure; #68 Shadow; #69 Motor; #70 Embarrass; #71 Proud; #72 Guide; #73 Impression; #74 Lost; #75 Wonder; #76 Tear; #77 Splash; #78 Brilliant; #79 Sinkhole; #80 Exhaust; #81 Roll; #82 Wishbone; #83 Chatterbox; #84 Foil; #85 I can't believe you said that; #86 Boo; #87 Midnight; #88 Hunger; #89 Light; #90 Spirit; #91 Fire; #92 Tend/Tender; #93 Cheer; #94 Appearance; #95 Ambition; #96 Trust; #97 Fly; #98 Comfort; #99 Fate; #100 To Create; #101 Vision; #102 Sympathy; #103 A Special Time; #104 Suspense; #105 Bride, stairs, illusion; #106 Reality TV; #107 Things the Go Bump in the Night; #108 First line: Two strange things happened that day; #109 What if that loose floorboard was actually a hidden passageway?; #110 Footsteps; #111 Mess; #112 Cards; #113 Elephant; #114 Crystal; #115 Phone call; #116 Date; #117 Chocolate; #118 Three words: wish, button, sky; #119 RSVP; #120 Objets d'art; #121 Soul; #122 Scuttlebutt; #123 Recall; #124 Doorway; #125 Beacon; #126 Seagull, Market, Box; #127 Window; #128 Terrified; #129 Dance; #130 Two endings; #131 Ghosted; #132 Treasure; #133 Taste; #134 Reunion; #135 I miss you; #136 Wonder; #137 Ruins; #138 Beach memories; #139 There was something in the wind; #140 Mask; #141 Halloween; #142 Photo album; #143 Dreams; #144 Crayon box; #145 Back of beyond; #146 Intuition; #147 Delight; #148 Anticipation; #149 Holiday memories; #150 Resolution; #151 Bicycle; #152 Flight; #153 Time Travel; #154 A trip to the fair; #155 Don't sell me a dog; #156 Gravity; #157 Love, wheelbarrow, dog; #158 Stealing; #159 Sportsmanship; #160 Toast; #161 Pickle}

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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, @gracielaacevedo, @yaziris, @itsostylish and @samsmith1971.

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A big thank you to all of our delegators:
@jayna, @felt.buzz, @itsostylish, @blueeyes8960, @agmoore, @marcybetancourt, @marlyncabrera, @stormcharmer, @juniorgomez, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @timix648, @samsmith1971, @jackdeathblack, @josemalavem, @riverflows, @generikat, @mineopoly, @hazmat, @treasuree, @innfauno12, @kingsleyy, @popurri, @nancybriti1, @marynn, @universoperdido, @rinconpoetico7, @nathy33, @iyimoga, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @moneykeep, @mrenglish, @stuartcturnbull, @marilour, @funshee, @amiegeoffrey, @balikis95, @cool08, @rukkie, @raymondpeter, @emreal, @tomiajax, @kushyzee, @jjmusa2004, @rare-gem, @ricurohemi28, @benwesterham.

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