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Dear community, Welcome to Prompt #16 in our creative nonfiction initiative. Thank you to everyone who contributed a nonfiction story last week. 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!) 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: 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! Here are some examples of what we are looking for: 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: What will be muted: Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt: If You Won the Lottery! We had fun reading about the dreams and aspirations that people have in the event that they ever won the lottery, and were amazed by how many people shared they they didn't dream of fancy things or a decadent lifestyle! Writers who joined in the fun: Our honorable mentions for last week's prompt are: Our third place winner is @arduilcelebren, with his story, Devaluation of Money and Appreciation of Time. I would also like to visit the white sandy beaches. Yes. A few famous places, wonders of the world. I would like to visit the places on the UNESCO World Heritage List. That would have been enough. I would start in my own country and then selectively visit other places. These places are mostly tourist attractions, yes, but not everyone wants to go to all of them. I don't think I would want to go to all of them either. Nevertheless, this list can be used as a very good start for a travel plan. Our second place winner is @lrscarmen, with her story, The Millionaire Prize. One morning on the twenty-fourth of December, we were preparing breakfast for the whole family, then my husband and I were preparing the table where we were going to assemble the hallacas, my dad was in his room lying on his bed watching television, waiting for the Kino Tachira, this was a kind of lottery, a cardboard with ten random numbers, which came previously with a serial code. I remember clearly when one of the presenters said "in a few minutes we will announce the last Kino Táchira show of the year, so don't move from your seat". I laughed to myself thinking about that old dreamer. Our first place winner is @grindan, with her story, Fiat Won't Float. A manic pixie dream girl, yeah, that's what I was. The aloof and quirky typecast who becomes a plot point against their will. In the years to come I would experience a few men imagining that I was the answer to something. Well, looking back I was just as guilty. I could blame Disney movies, which raised me to think that the best happy ending was love. Really though, it's cultural. Congratulations, @grindan, @arduilcelebren and @lrscarmen! A friend is one of our most basic human needs. Sure, we need sustenance and comfort — food, water, clothing, and a roof over our heads. But friends are necessary for emotional survival. They make us laugh. They make us feel needed. Without good friends, we humans experience profound loneliness, and our well-being suffers. But what are friends, really? Tell us about friendship, in story form. For example: 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! 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!
What Is Creative Nonfiction?
-- Reedsy blog: What is Creative Nonfiction? The Unputdownable Truth
-- Writers.com: Understanding Creating Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write ItGuidelines for Creative Nonfiction Articles in The Ink Well
Last Week's Creative Nonfiction Winners
Honorable Mentions of the Week
Third Place: Wins 1,000 Ecency points
Second Place: Wins 3 Hive
First Place: Wins 5 Hive
The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt #16: Friendship
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