Hello and welcome to the The Ink Well weekly fiction prompt and prize announcement! The Ink Well is a Hive blockchain-based social media community of creative writers. If you love to write short stories, we invite you to join us! Or just peruse and enjoy the work of our community members.
Special Reminder: In addition to the weekly fiction contest we hold a monthly contest. Check out our April fiction contest ending April 30! 10 Hive to the winner!
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.
Weekly Challenge and Prize Announcement
Time for the prize announcement and new challenge!
Last week's prompt was "crystal" and the skill challenge was stunning first lines.
Stories From the Previous Week
Thank you to everyone who posted a story for last week's prompt!
The Ink Well is fortunate to have many members who are rising talents! We would like everyone to think of these weekly prizes as a showcase of just a few of the very best stories, as well as an opportunity for our members to be inspired by reading some polished stories that demonstrate excellent storytelling skills.
- @rdsmas
- @kinganny
- @marriot5464
- @talon12
- @wrestlingdesires
- @mrenglish
- @voiceless12
- @cool08
- @balikis95
- @mhizrutty
- @universoperdido
- @janaveda
- @diebitch
- @george-dee
- @dianelson
- @timix648
- @lenaspiritual
- @jetta.amaya
- @princess-dara
- @vivaebony
- @popurri
- @kelseyimoh
- @marynn
- @kemmyb
- @jhymi
- @poemsofasickmind
- @lara-bee
- @jjmusa2004
- @treasure-joshua
- @vincric
- @seki1
- @inessita
- @abigail04
- @kingsleyy
- @omasilem
- @bahnhoft
- @rammargarita
- @diikaan
- @lrscarmen
Honorable Mentions
Our honorable mentions of the week are:
- @dianelson: Anabella
- @vivaebony: Beyond Magical
- @diebitch: Waiting for Luck
- @kemmyb: Doorway to Eddie's Paradise
- @balikis95: Crystal
- @universoperdido: Buffy
- @wrestlingdesires Gift or Curse
Third Place: Wins 2 Hive
- @jhymi, with the story The Pirate
The auction started and I kept raising my bidder card, pushing the prices higher and higher. Jose, the pompous goat, wanted that particular crystal vase and also kept raising his bidder card. But the problem was, I knew his net worth. And he was definitely heading towards bankruptcy with this purchase. So, I smiled and continued raising my card. When I was sure that he’d have to borrow heavily to be able to pay, I let him have it.
Second Place: Wins 3 Hive
- @popurri, with the story Selena's Envoy
I entered the darkened room and as the one-eyed man told me, I opened a small wooden box that was placed on a shelf. Flashes of white, yellow, pink, blue, violet, orange light scattered around the room and fixed on the retinas of my eyes that shone like an inner universe, a reflection of the creation of worlds with the power of light. The whole room lit up, and the box became black. An endless hole.
I touched those crystals with the sensation that by doing so their heat would burn my skin, but they were cold, my fingers froze and adhered to them as when one touches ice for a long time.
First Place: Wins 5 Hive
- @poemsofasickmind with the story Camila's Crystals
On a hot summer day, only a glass of cold lemonade, good music, a nice party and talks of crystals made Camila feel like she could accomplish anything she wanted. She knew big things would happen this year that would change her forever. A change for good, she hoped.
It was a special day for Camila, not just because it was her 18th birthday, but because she was able to work with her grandmother as a crystal healer as she promised her a few years ago. Camila wanted to be just like her grandmother. She wanted to learn everything about crystal healing and become the best healer in their town.
Congratulations to @poemsofasickmind, @popurri and @jhymi!
Okay, let's launch the new prompt!
This Week’s Prompt
COUNTDOWN NOTE: Many of you are submitting stories after the countdown ends. If you do so, we will still include you in the list of that week's authors, but you must submit before the end of the countdown to be considered for the prizes and honorable mentions.
Prompt of the week!
This week's prompt is "phone call." Our skill challenge is character description.
What to do with this prompt?
Getting a call on your phone is somewhat rare these days, right? You're much more likely to get a text. And so phone calls have risen in status. A phone call is meaningful. People rarely call unless they really have something to say.
Tell us a story about an important phone call. It could be a mystery caller, the confession of a long-time friend, a break-up, the call from an elderly relative wanting to impart some wisdom... whatever your imagination comes up with.
Don't forget the character description skill! Let us get to know your character. Read the article about writing character descriptions and give the reader a full picture, in words, so we know what your character(s) look like, sound like, act like.
Ready, set go!
A week from now, we will select winning stories that demonstrate the skills and utilize the prompt. Of course, we will also be looking for overall quality in the winning stories. Good luck! Be sure to read the contest rules below.
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:
Weekly Prompt Rules:
- Deadline: You have SIX DAYS to write for the prompt, and you must submit your story before the end of the countdown to be considered for prizes and honorable mentions. You can find the countdown timer at the bottom of the prompt post on The Ink Well home page.
- Story link: Post your story in The Ink Well community, and post a link to your story in a comment on this post.
- Hashtags: Please use these hashtags: #fiction #writing #inkwellprompt #theinkwell — as well as #dreemport, if you are also posting your story to the DreemPort site.
- COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Visit the work of at least two other community members and comment on their work.
- 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 or include the prompt word(s).
- 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.
- Length: We request that story word counts are a maximum of 1,500 words in length (preferably 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. Thank you!
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.)
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
Thank you for being a part of The Ink Well!
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