Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well: Prompt #14

theinkwell (71)in The Ink Well • last year

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Dear community,

Welcome to Prompt #14 in our creative nonfiction initiative. Thank you to everyone who contributed a nonfiction story last week. You guys continually wow us with your amazing stories!

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!)

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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!

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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

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Last Week's Creative Nonfiction Winners

Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt: Heritage!

Honorable Mentions of the Week

Our honorable mentions for last week's prompt are:

Third Place: Wins 1,000 Ecency points

Our third place winner is @dreemsteem, with her story, Wrath of McGrath.

I could have been assigned to Father Laherty - a smart, young, chipper math teacher who had a warm smile and a laidback attitude. Perhaps, Mrs. Cosgrove? The gentle, motherly French professor who let everything slide. Maybe, Mrs. O'Bryan? The quick-witted English teacher who always had a joke at the ready - her dry humor effortlessly evoking eye-rolls and snickers from her students. Any one of those - and more - would have been acceptable for my 13 year old frailties. But no, I was sitting in the 5th aisle, FIRST row, directly in front of this tiny Tasmanian devil of a man! I suppose that might sound irreverent to call a priest a devil - but fret not, it was only his shape. Massive rounded back, broad shoulders, full chest, pregnant-looking belly - all balanced on teeny little legs.

Second Place: Wins 3 Hive

Our second place winner is @popurri, with her story, My Mother and Sister, Family Chroniclers.

She was a young girl spoiled and protected by a very respected and well-known family in the parish of The Valley, an old colonial area of Caracas, where the houses were the typical red-roofed mansions, with a central patio and in the living room, balconies with seats where young people used to chat through the window. The streets had old names I lived in: royal street, back street and Cajigal street, still remain in my childhood memories. And I have not lost that taste for the traditional, for the villages and their houses of yesteryear.

First Place: Wins 5 Hive

Our first place winner is @owasco, with her story, My Inheritance.

Everything was bigger than I was in that kitchen. Several copper kettles that could have held me easily were cooling along the side wall. A huge marble work bench in the center of the room was large enough for six people to have a picnic on, and it was covered in recently filled chocolate molds in a variety of animals and shapes. There were racecars and bulldogs and pigs rowing boats; there were roosters and turkeys and lambs and horses and rabbits galore. Trays of colorful mints filled a cooling rack - pink, green, blue and white. The white ones, peppermint, were my favorites. My father pulled one off the tray, still warm, and placed it on my tongue. There were trays of peanut clusters, peanut brittle, ribbon candies, nut barks, and much more, everywhere I looked. These were the fruits of that day's labors. It would all be left to cool and set overnight, then packaged for sale in the morning.

Congratulations, @owasco, @popurri and @dreemsteem

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The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt #14: Two Truths and a Lie

This week, we are going to have some fun. We'd like you to use your story telling skills to combine some fiction with your creative nonfiction story. Are you game?

This writing prompt idea comes from a traditional ice breaker game used at parties and business events to get people talking about themselves and interacting.

Here's how it works:

Think of two things about yourself (certain traits or experiences you've had) that might be of interest to others. Write at least a few paragraphs about each of those things. Use your story telling techniques to provide details. For example, if you once had a picture taken with a famous person, describe the scenario. Who was it and how did they act? Were you nervous? Did you get their autograph?
Also invent one thing that is not true about you, and write about it exactly as if it was true. The third thing must be similar to the other two, but you will make it up. You'll want to keep people guessing about which of the three things is the one you made up, so make it convincing.
You can write about the three things in any order. Embellish them with plenty of details so they are all realistic.
Finally, at the very end of your article, you can reveal which one you made up.

You will know how convincingly you wrote the "fictional" piece about yourself from the comments on your story.

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 1,000 Ecency points

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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Join here at Hive Onboard

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

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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, @agmoore, @gracielaacevedo @yaziris and @itsostylish.

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A big thank you to all of our delegators:
@jayna, @felt.buzz, @zeurich, @marcybetancourt, @agmoore, @marlyncabrera, @stormcharmer, @generikat, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @chocolatescorpi, @samsmith1971, @grindan, @stuartcturnbull, @itsostylish, @josemalavem, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @popurri, and @mrenglish.

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last year in The Ink Well by theinkwell (71)

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dreemsteem (74) last year

Thank you @theinkwell !!!! I'm thrilled for those wonderful ecency points!!! this was so fun! And I can't wait for this week! hehe

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fantom22 (64) last year

Congratulations, to the winners @owasco, @popurri and @dreemsteem and also to the honourable mentions @amiegeoffrey,@brujita18,@joycealarapon and @maam.sammy.

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brujita18 (70) last year

Thank you!!

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popurri (71) last year

Gracias @fantom22 😊

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fantom22 (64) last year

@popurri usted es siempre bienvenido.

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joycealarapon (59) last year

Thank you very much🤗.

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itsostylish (70) last year

Such an interesting prompt!

Congratulations, to @owasco, @popurri and @dreemsteem and the honourable mentions @amiegeoffrey,@brujita18,@joycealarapon and @maam.sammy.

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jayna (74) last year

Rubs hands together. What will this wonderful community come up with this week? We shall see!

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brujita18 (70) last year

Thanks @itsostylish, cheers!

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owasco (72) last year

Thank you so much! Writing my entry, and all the wonderful comments on it, has colored and enriched the way I see my life. I really enjoyed this one! Let's see what I can do for the next one. Thanks again, and congrats to everyone.

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jayna (74) last year

That is such a wonderful outcome, @owasco. The very same thing happened to me after writing a creative nonfiction story. Something about it gave me a fresh lens on the past, and a really enjoyable way of putting some of my angst to bed. Creative nonfiction can be cathartic and healing, and it can provide insights we were looking for without even knowing it. Maybe it's a bit like journaling combined with therapy!

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hazmat (64) last year

Lol,this week is gonna be 🔥..
Can't wait for the stories to start dropping.

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jayna (74) last year

Me too! I'm giggling just thinking about it, @hazmat.

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lightpen (67) last year

This week is wonderful. The prompt is superb.
Congratulations to the winners of last week prompt.

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jayna (74) last year

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, @lightpen!

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lightpen (67) last year

Alright. I am in the kitchen cooking it right now.

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momogrow (70) last year

Congratulations to the winners. Interesting new prompt.

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jayna (74) last year

I hope you join us this week, @momogrow. 😀

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momogrow (70) last year

Yes I will @jayna - looking forward.

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poshtoken (82) last year

_{The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @jayna ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.}

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edgarafernandezp (66) last year

Hello, this is my link to participate :-D

https://ecency.com/hive-170798/@edgarafernandezp/an-idea-to-change-my

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theinkwell (71) last year

Hi @edgarafernandezp. The story you linked here is a fictional story, correct? Fictional stories are made up from our imaginations. Nonfiction stories are true stories. The prompt post above provides all of the important guidelines for this prompt.

Here are few guidelines for the future:

Please be sure to use the #fiction prompt on fictional stories and the #creativenonfiction tag on nonfiction stories.
Please be sure to review the prompt carefully before posting a link in the comment.

Thank you!

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edgarafernandezp (66) last year

oh I understand, it's really a true story of my life, I just changed the name of the character, but they're right, I'm not meeting the conditions, I'll be more careful when reading next time 👍😃

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stellageorge (63) last year

Congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions.

Oh wow, this week's prompt is nice.
Can't wait to read great stories.

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kingsleymark (59) last year

Congratulations to the winner's

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kingsleymark (59) last year

My story link
https://ecency.com/hive-170798/@kingsleymark/family-legacy
My comment on @lightpen and @marynn

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theinkwell (71) last year

Hi @kingsleymark. You have posted a fictional story here. The Ink Well post above is about creative nonfiction. Please be sure to review the prompt guidelines in the post before adding your link in a comment. Thank you.

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brujita18 (70) last year

Thank you for the honorable mention, it was a pleasure. Congratulations to all who participated and of course to the winners, blessings!

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sofs-su (69) last year

Congratulations to all the winners.
This is the link to my entry for this challenge https://www.ecency.com/hive-170798/@sofs-su/life-the-way-it-happens
I will be reading and commenting on other entries ASAP.