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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: "Ring":

• @captainman
• @zino01
• @jazclassic
• @zyzymena
• @jezmaine
• @normalyf
• @iskawrites
• @iyimoga
• @reblogme
• @alovely
• @jjmusa2004
• @nancybriti1
• @rinconpoetico7
• @chuksmeezy
• @sabrinah
• @menace123
• @lightpen
• @abigail04
• @graat
• @kristowe
• @loveth97
• @ukrajpoot
• @osomar357
• @cool08
• @marriot5464
• @fashtioluwa
• @ayokunlehenry
• @youngelder
• @katleya
• @phyna
• @balikis95
• @quan45
• @rare-gem
• @gabmr
• @emreal
• @el-herah
• @mrenglish
• @popurri
• @trexane
• @cheeamaka
• @lara-bee
• @moclassic
• @samiwrites
• @kingsleyy
• @litguru
• @kei2
• @george-dee
• @bipolar95

Author Shout-outs

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

@kei2

Unbeliever: The Wood People

Curator comment:

@kei2 writes a delightful fantasy story about a young man experiencing all kinds of unexplainable phenomena. Finally it turns out that he belongs to another world and another culture. There are so many great details along the way! In the end, the protagonist can't decide whether to immerse in the world he hadn't even known about or go back to his known life.

@loveth97

The Mix-up

Curator comment:

@loveth97 has an excellent storytelling style. This story goes through the challenges of a man who finds his future wife in bed with another man (his best friend), which might sound trite, but she gives it a fresh spin. The main character's grandmother dies and he ends up with a ring in his pocket that granny intended for his sister. But then the girlfriend's friend sees the ring at a soiree and reports to the girlfriend that she's about to become engaged. It's a bit of a "comedy of errors!" Definitely this author likes humor, ala keystone cops.

@rinconpoetico7

The Enchanted Ring

Curator comment:

Rinconpoetico7 writes about a magical ring. His narrator speaks in a mythic voice. There is a battle that will determine the survival of a people. One side has the ring. The other has a driving need for revenge. These two opposing motivations meet at the top of a cliff. Vengeance wins the day as the holder of the ring tumbles to the bottom of the cliff. However, the story ends with 'mysterious' strangers in metallic armor finding the ring. We realize, as readers, that the author has set the stage for the coming of colonial invaders. In their avaricious hands we understand that the ring will wreak unprecedented catastrophe on all people in the land. This story is well written, even riveting as the action builds to a climax.

@chuksmeezy

The Telephone

Curator comment:

@chuksmeezy describes a woman who is waiting for her son to come home. It's raining. Gloomy atmosphere. Really creepy. The phone rings, a phone that never rings. A mysterious voice on the other end. She hangs up. And tries to use her cell phone to call emergency. The voice on the other end of the cell phone call tells her to answer the creepy phone. She falls down, and goes unconscious. The son comes home. She realizes it was all a dream. But was it? Because that phone, the phone that never rings, the phone with the creepy voice on the other end--that phone rings again. Was it all a dream? Or is Lucy (the protagonist) caught in some real-life nightmare?

Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week

This week's prompt is: "Hope."

What to do with this prompt? So many possibilities!

"Hope springs eternal," as they say. This means that no matter how many challenges we experience in life, most of us still hope and believe that better things are to come.

Hope is that magical emotion that comes through for us when we feel all is lost. It is often the solution to untamed worries. It is in all the things we do and experience in life, when you think about it. We hope for good grades in school, for healthy relationships, and for a pat on the back when we've done something noteworthy. We hope our team will win when we play sports, and we hope all will go well when we plan special occasions that involve a lot of important details.

In other words, you have endless possibilities for what to write about around the word "hope."

We look forward to seeing what your imagination comes up with, and we are hoping for originality and inspiration! 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; #162 You only live once; #163 Ring/sub>}

Thank you for being a part of The Ink Well!
@jayna, @gracielaacevedo, @yaziris, @itsostylish, @samsmith1971 and @agmoore

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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.

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.

Note: The Ink Well is now paying out curation rewards to our delegators!

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.

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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, @funshee, @amiegeoffrey, @balikis95, @cool08, @rukkie, @raymondpeter, @emreal, @tomiajax, @kushyzee, @jjmusa2004, @rare-gem, @ricurohemi28, @benwesterham, and @shakavon.

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