Creative Nonfiction Prompt #143

theinkwell (73)in The Ink Well • 4 months ago

Countdown terminated on Jun 27, 2025, 5:08 PM

Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well Prompt #143

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

In this post, we'll 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.

divider

Last Week's entrants

Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt : When pigs fly.

Last week's participants

@ogeewitty	@onyinye-chi	@norbert10
@delightedpen	@oyebolu	@ellizy
@coolbabe88	@nachomolina2	@venom2951
@zerah	@popurri	@abojode
@marynn	@marriot5464	@daeze-winnie
@harmony2605	@bisolamih	@nancybriti1
@jennyzee1	@lailawrites	@ernestopg
@fashtioluwa	@lareaiyela	@yummycruz1
@abdul-qudus	@riya2020	@almadepoeta
@offia66	@farahikram	@lara-bee
@glorydee	@goshen	@happy080
@edith-4angelseu

Featured

Highlighting @riya2020, with the story:

When Pigs Fly

Two weeks later, she started a garri business. Took a loan from a women's cooperative and traveled to distant villages to buy cassava in bulk. She would leave at 4 a.m., come back smelling of sweat and dust, with sacks on her head and bruises on her arms.

Curator's comment :

The story is raw, hard hitting and ultimately sweet. The writing is clear and clean, while the story is perfectly paced. Rewarding read!

Featured

Highlighting @zerah, with the story:

The Night Pigs Flew

To worsen it all, there was no sound of pounding or pots clattering from Mama Chinedu's kitchen. As it was exactly the time she made dinner. In fact, there were no cheerful welcome greetings for me from her floating in the air as I walked in. Her bright voice would've called out to me from her kitchen window. But today, the windows were shut.

Curator's comment :

zerah writes a heartbreaking CNF story about Mama Chinedu and the loss of her daughter. In this story, it is four years after that loss, but she Mama Chinedu grieves as if it were yesterday. Beautifully told story of grief and caring.

Featured

Highlighting @daeze-winnie, with the story:

What Happened to Aunty Ireju?

The air left my chest. Papa is my father's father, my favorite storyteller and the only grandparent I really knew. I was in my final year of secondary school, old enough to understand what death actually meant. And it really hurt.

Curator's comment :

daeze-winnie writes an absolutely stunning CNF for the "when pigs fly" prompt. She tells the story of her father learning that his father has passed, and the events that followed. Really great story, really well told!

Featured

Highlighting @popurri, with the story:

When snow falls

"Well it's true grandma, in December it's cold and sometimes you can see the fog. My sisters and I play that we are smoking because of the steam that comes out of our mouths due to the cold. But that's not as much fun as the snow."

Curator's comment :

Popurri writes a lyrical, nostalgic CNF about her love for cold weather and her passion for snow, which seldom falls in her tropical location. Eventually, when confronted with snow it was nothing like what she'd expected; she thought it would be soft and cottony. Lovely piece!

This Week's Prompt 143

All that glitters is not gold

Meaning:

something that seems to be good on the surface, but might not be when looked at more closely.

We've all probably experienced a deal or an opportunity that turned out to be something other than we thought it would be. Share your story with us.

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!

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 .

inkwell

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.

How to Follow Our Curation Trail

You can follow our curation trail by going to our hive.vote curation trail page and clicking the follow button.

How to Delegate to The Ink Well

We welcome delegations! These support our community in many ways, including helping us to provide support to quality content creators through curation and contests.