The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #161

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Welcome to the Weekly Fiction Prompt

Hello community members! Apologies, as this prompt post is late!

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: "Toast":

• @niya57829
• @jazclassic
• @amarachi22
• @marriot5464
• @chm-writes
• @treasuree
• @emeka002
• @hazmat
• @sabrinah
• @psalmy05
• @trexane
• @iskawrites
• @kristowe
• @jadams2k18
• @captainman
• @ukrajpoot
• @loveth97
• @abigail04
• @gabmr
• @fragozar01
• @supernova004
• @balikis95
• @lightpen
• @jjmusa2004
• @caithlyn
• @stevewealth
• @lara-bee
• @menace123
• @george-dee
• @graat
• @rare-gem
• @samiwrites
• @emreal
• @abrarhussain
• @noradaniel
• @diikaan
• @moaz-sabir
• @oluchi31
• @princess-dara
• @zino01
• @litguru
• @omolayo
• @hadianoor
• @bipolar95
• @moclassic
• @emeka002

Author Shout-outs

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

@litguru

Dreams in the Red

Curator comment:

@litguru brings us a fantastic read for the toast prompt! He sets the scene with such care and attention to detail that I felt I was there. Layered with surprises, it delighted at every turn. He has an incredible ability to write a story on multiple levels, and this adds wonderful depth to his writing. It was charming, amusing, and intelligent. I didn't want it to end! (this is definitely one that could be spun into a novel in a range of genres depending on the direction he took with it, and which subplots and backstories he chose to develop) I won't spoil the enjoyment. Go read it. He's a joy!

@diikaan

Toast to Long Nights

Curator comment:

@diikaan writes an absolutely brilliant, laugh-a-minute fiction that’ll tickle your funny bone, so give yourselves a treat and read it. I won’t spoil the story for you (which would be very hard to do), but suffice to say it’s about an irritable toaster that both under and over performs and the personalities who tinker with it. Wonderful stuff!

@george-dee

A Taste of Fate

Curator comment:

@george-dee writes a total tearjerker here; beautifully organised, nicely paced and awesomely structured. This is a sweet, must-read about a young man who remembers the amazing toast his neighbour made and distributed to the poor (being him). The woman has (subsequently) become ill and can no longer cook, but her recipes are recognisable in her daughter’s cooking, whom the protagonist has become acquainted with (coincidentally). Original, lovely read

@hazmat

Honey Toast Legacy

Curator comment:

@hazmat writes a clever story about a little girl and her family and how the spark has gone out of the household since her grandma died the year before. No one eats together anymore and she frets that her family will fall apart since her grandma always said "The family that eats together stays together." One day her parents call her to a meeting with them and she can tell it's serious. She is certain they are announcing their divorce so she runs to her room and won't listen to them. But then they slip a note under her door explaining that they want to open a restaurant to honor her grandma and make the special toast she used to make. Super cute.

Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week

This week's prompt is: "Pickle."

What to do with this prompt? We had so much fun with toast last week, we decided to do another food word that can also mean other things

Here are some ideas for you!

1. A "pickle" can be a pickled cucumber, but many other types of foods are pickled in various cultures around the world. Think about a story involving recipes passed down through the generations, or how the chore of pickling foods brings a family together.
2. A person can be "in a pickle" which means to be in a difficult situation. For example, if someone set off from shore in a rowboat but forgot the oars, their relative watching from land might shout "Well now you're in a pickle!"
3. When a person drinks too much alcohol, another person might say, "Wow, that guy is pickled!"
4. There is also a popular game today called "pickleball." You could write a story involving drama around characters who play the sport.

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}

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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, @jjmusa2004, @universoperdido, @rinconpoetico7, @nathy33, @marriot5464, @iyimoga, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @moneykeep, @mrenglish, @stuartcturnbull, @marilour, @funshee, @amiegeoffrey, @balikis95, @cool08, @rukkie, @raymondpeter, @emreal, @tomiajax, @kushyzee, @rare-gem, @ricurohemi28, @benwesterham.

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