Creative Nonfiction Prompt 137

theinkwell (72)in The Ink Well • last month

Countdown terminated on May 16, 2025, 4:04 PM

Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well Prompt #137

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.

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Last Week's entrants

Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt : Trying to make ends meet.

Last week's participants

@almadepoeta	@oyebolu	@rare-gem
@marriot5464	@ima99	@princessbusayo
@ayodeji01	@bisolamih	@delightedpen
@rammargarita	@young-tari	@zerah
@universoperdido	@consistency	@emreal
@nancybriti1	@glorydee	@abojode
@kilvnrex	@beckyroyal	@faithwellington
@coolbabe88	@edith-4angelseu	@jennyzee1
@farahikram	@offia66	@abigail04
@basil20	@fashtioluwa	@goshen
@beauty197

Featured

Highlighting @almadepoeta, with the story:

Trying to Make Ends Meet

Remembering my childhood, hundreds of memories of shortages come to my mind, but not a sad childhood or where I had to work as a child. Just by saying that, you put yourself at an advantage over thousands of people in this world.

Curator's comment :

@almadepoeta writes a very sensitive story that many people can relate to. He translates in his plot the feelings that many parents feel when they must put school fees and food above the desires of their children. The imagery is very believable and the tone and pace of the narrative very appropriate.

Featured

Highlighting @marriot5464, with the story:

Tasteless

We sat there on the cold tile with our legs crossed and a plate of beans in between. Micheal looked at me. I return his gaze. Then we looked at the bowl of plain beans before us. Student style with no pepper, no oil, no salt. We laughed. We laughed so hard like we weren't about to eat tasteless food. Like we didn't have worries at all.

Curator's comment :

marriot5464 writes in a way that allows us to taste his unsalted rice and plain beans. We not only can taste the food that is absent salt (he cannot afford to buy this seasoning), but we experience his joy when he gets a financial windfall that enables him to eat a full, seasoned meal. The author excels in scene description and emotional evocation.

Featured

Highlighting @princessbusayo, with the story:

Toiling Under the Sun

The birds chirped softly in the distance, the trees danced gently as the wind tossed their branches back and forth, and the cock crowed in rhythm - it was dawn already. Nature had begun its morning symphony and it was another Monday. The day had just begun, and yet another moment to continue the grind.

Curator's comment :

This CNF is beautifully composed and quite nicely written. Princessbusayo tells us about the market in her home town, capturing the bustle and vibe of the place so well that one can actually feel and “see” it quite vividly.

Featured

Highlighting @happy080, with the story:

Trying To Make Ends Meet.

Uncle Shedrack had convinced himself that he was a 'serial entrepreneur,' so to speak. He'd tried selling recharge cards, opened a roadside car wash with one bucket; what's more, he had even attempted importing umbrellas from Cotonou during the dry season.

Curator's comment :

Her sense of humour brings her story alive in ways that made me chuckle throughout. Her descriptions are refreshingly unique, intentional, and paint vivid images in the reader's mind. Her uncle Shedrack is a dreamer of note; an entrepreneur with a lot of heart and a penchant for *interesting* financial opportunities that keep the family on their toes as they navigate the constant fallout of his *business* decisions. His latest venture involves the acquisition of two goats: one old, one agressive; both contained within a makeshift enclosure close to the neighbour's prized garden. What could possibly go wrong? Hilarious!

Featured

Highlighting @nancybriti1, with the story:

The value of each coin

What was not in my father's plans was that due to his illness, he would have to, in his last days of life, be taken to the intensive care unit of a clinic in the city, which plunged us into financial chaos, as we had to scramble to obtain money we did not have in order to pay for my father's daily stay in intensive care.

Curator's comment :

Nancybriti1 tells us about her brittle experience while facing the bitter financial ruin of her father’s death. Shortly after her father’s illness her country was cast into financial crisis and Nancy recounts her family’s formidable difficulties with rare poetic skill. A story about severe suffering with a rainbow ending.

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This Week's Prompt 137

Weak excuse

The prompt is self explanatory and should be enough in itself, without further illumination, to fire your imagination.

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.

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