Image source: bluartpapelaria on Pixabay
Hello and welcome to the The Ink Well weekly fiction prompt. 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 peruse the work of our community members.
Important FAQs about The Ink Well!
Before we get to the prompt, we have answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about The Ink Well.
What Is The Ink Well all about? The Ink Well is a short story community. We do not accept essays, poems, chapter stories or other content. Just short stories! And we are all about creativity, quality, community, and engagement. This means that just dropping by to post some stuff is not acceptable. We ask the following:
- Please take the time to get to know the community and read other writers' work. Everyone who posts in The Ink Well is expected to read and comment on at least two other stories for each piece you post.
- See our catalog of fiction writing tips and make use of our resources. (Many of our writers are developing awesome skills, and you can too!)
- Put effort into your posts. Review and edit your content for errors.
Before you post in our community, please be sure to read the community rules (right side of the page) where we outline the "do's and don'ts" for posting in The Ink Well. If you only use a mobile phone and can't see them, you can read them here.
Our community rules are designed to make our community a safe, welcoming, plagiarism-free space for self-publishing original short stories.
We invite you to use the #creativecoin prompt. We are very fortunate to have some curation support from the Creative Coin Fund. You can read about it in our recent newsletter.
What does it take to get rewards in The Ink Well?? We refer you to the above description of what The Ink Well is about. If you are not getting great rewards, it is likely for one of the following reasons:
- Your story has many grammatical errors. (This is easily fixed with the tips in our post, Help for the Grammatically Challenged.)
- Your story lacks some important elements of good fiction, such as character development, dialog, scene details or a story arc. (See our catalog of fiction writing tips for information on these important aspects of short stories.)
- Your story appears to be a retelling of an old folk tale. There's nothing wrong with folk tales, but here in The Ink Well, we are looking for 100% original fiction. We want to see fresh new stories from your imagination, not age-old stories with well-worn themes.
Okay! Let's review fiction entries from last week's prompt and launch a new one.
Stories From the Previous Week
Thank you to everyone who posted a story for last week's prompt, “Gift."
There were so many wonderful stories for this prompt! And what a way to launch into the holiday season. Thank you all for the great stories!
Here are the week's stories. Be sure to read and support these authors for their work.
- Gift, by @bruno-kema
- Can I Please Give It Back?, by @wrestlingdesires
- A Gift for Charlie, by @kemmyb
- A Gift for the Wicked, by @beautifulwreck
- An Exceptional Gift, by @ghostonchronic
- Stars on Earth, by @kei2
- A Gift as Present, by @amirtheawesome1
- Retribution, by @sonofremi
- What Does Burning the World Have to Do With It?, by @khoola
- Gift from the Inside, by @iyimoga
- The Weekend Gift, by @ozohu
- Flowers for the Dom YF-74, by @gracielaacevedo
- The Last Christmas Present, by @khaleesii
- The Unexpected Gift of the Secret Friend, by @katleya
- Gift to Omar, by @ricardo993
- Christmas Gifts with Double Blessing, by @onwugbenuvictor
- The Present, by @b0s
- What an Ungrateful Reaction to My Christmas Gift!, by @coolkris
- When Colonel Sanders Makes Gumbo In Virginia as a Gift, by @deeanndmathews
- The Box of Gifts and the Secret Admirer, by @mrenglish
- A Surprise, by @dwixer
- Joy at Last, by @emeka002
- Good Moral Deserves Reward, by @cool08
- Miracle, by @rokhani
- Gift of Life, by @doziekash
- The Gift Wrap, by @mcluz
- The Best Gifts in Life Are Sweet, by @juanvegetarian
Well done, everyone!
This Week’s Prompt
Last week, we launched the holiday season with the "gift" prompt. So let us continue!
This week's prompt is: season of light. This phrase is often used to refer to the Christmas holiday season, because (at least in the northern hemisphere) the days are very short, and so we string up lights on homes and trees and fences to bring light. For many, the lights of the season are a reason to feel hopeful and restored. For children, it can create excitement and wonder. There are many possible stories about the magic of twinkling lights.
But of course you do not need to write about holiday lights or the holiday season. You may use this prompt however you like.
For example, you could bring us a story about a person living in darkness or sadness who rediscovers joy in the brighter days of springtime. Or feel free to write about the beauty and power of light in your religious or cultural tradition.
We hope that will get your imaginations started! We look forward to reading your stories.
Note: As always, please avoid gory, bloody, brutal, sexist or racist themes and language, NSFW (not safe for work) themes, and stories featuring abuse of women, children or animals.
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 a week to write for the prompt, until the next one is posted. (Note: You can write for any of the prompts anytime. This is just a guideline to be included in the weekly round-up in the next prompt post.)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 the source link.
- Length (NEW!): We request that story word counts are a maximum of 1,500 words maximum length (preferably 750-1000 words). This is just a guideline. Longer stories tend to get fewer readers. Additionally, The Ink Well admins appreciate keeping to that maximum story length for our time management!
Reminder: Be sure to also read our community rules. The reason for the repeat reminder is that we see many stories describing brutality of women, children, or animals, or that have excessive gore or violence, and we must mute them. Please do not post these stories in The Ink Well. We want our community to be a safe and comfortable place for all readers.
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
Thank you for being a part of The Ink Well!
@jayna, @agmoore and @gracielaacevedo
We would like to invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @agmoore and @gracielaacevedo.
We also invite you to follow The Ink Well curation trail on the Hive blockchain, at https://hive.vote/. Simply navigate to the curation trail section and search for theinkwell (all one word with no @ symbol) and our trail will pop up as an option.
Similarly delegations are possible on Hive using the fantastic https://peakd.com/ Hive Blockchain front end. If you wish to delegate to @theinkwell, you can do this from the wallet section of https://peakd.com/
@jayna, @agmoore, @gracielaacevedo, @iamraincrystal, @generikat, @marlyncabrera, @owasco, @preparedwombat, @marcybetancourt, @zeurich, @barge, @lacrucita, @stormcharmer, @adncabrera, @vision-of-esca, @josemalavem, @morey-lezama, @sayury, @rypo01, @evagavilan2 and @bertrayo.
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This is a good one :) I hope I can think up something worthy of it :) ...
Of course you will come up with something. You are a beacon of light :)
Thank you, I hope my entry is light enough ❤️
!PIZZA !ALIVE
@agmoore! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @wrestlingdesires. (10/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
Taker vs Kane buried alive under Christmas Lights match. You're welcome.
Ha ha ha. There, you're all set, @wrestlingdesires.
😂 now that would be something different - but I want to watch it, not write it 🤣
!PIZZA !ALIVE
@amirtheawesome1! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @wrestlingdesires. (9/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
Wouldn't put it past Saudi Arabia requesting it in the next Crown Jewel
That would be great :) ... IF they get to go over again, with this Covid mess.
I have complete faith in you, @wrestlingdesires!
Thanks so much :)
Hehehehe me too, he writes very well.
I enjoyed your last story... let's do it again!
Sounds like a plan :) My next one will be along soon 🙌
!PIZZA
I did some engaging but I didn't have time to make my write up. I enjoyed most stories I read. Hopefully I would write soon
We would love to have your story and very much appreciate your engagement. I hope you find the time and inspiration to write.
Verdiğiniz bilgiler için teşekkür ederim
Welcome, @akkann! Are you a fiction writer? If so, please look around and get to know our community.
You can find our community rules at the top of The Ink Well home page. We ask everyone who posts in The Ink Well to read and comment on at least two other writers' work in the community for every story published.
You can also find some introductory information in our recent newsletter. And be sure to visit the resources available in our catalog of fiction writing tips.
We welcome all writers of short stories. We are a diverse community and we support each other. Give us a try. It'll be fun, and a chance to develop your writing skills.
Hayalim büyük bir yazar olmak. Umarım bu topluluğun tecrübelerinden. Faydalanırım. Teşekkürler
I hope your dream comes true. That would make us very happy. We do only publish in English. I'm using a translator to read your words. I look forward to reading your stories.
Teşekkürler. çeviri doğru olur umarım.
@silentbot star 3
Thank you! I haven't heard of silentbot stars.
Here, my entry link to the #inkwellprompt #42
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@mrenglish/first-time
First over the finish line! Thanks for being part of our community, @mrenglish.
I read that story @mrenglish. I used to be a social studies (history) teacher so the content was of particular interest to me. Very well written.
You know, I studied history and it's way the best course you can study, so interesting learn and teach it.
Thanks @jayna for always.
Going particularly difficult for me, a Muslim to write about this lol. Luckily, the InkWell is always flexible and makes it work.
If I were to write this story, it would not be about Christmas. And it would not be about Diwali. I immediately thought of the symbolic sense of the word. Oh my heavens. Light--gravity, duality, even cake batter. For me it is always a challenge to come up with the unexpected. I find the usual tedious. Why write, why read, if I can predict what is going to be said?
Just a tease, @amirtheawesome1 :))
Yes, we are flexible and inclusive, @amirtheawesome1. While this is a very big season for the Christian world, there are many other cultures and traditions, and we honor the origins and beliefs of all members of our community. You can write about whatever you wish.
My entry
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@cool08/the-light-of-being-an-help-meet
I have commented on @mrenglish
You are quick with your pen, @cool08! Thanks for helping to launch the week of stories in The Ink Well.
Thank you very much...
I will read this first thing tomorrow, @cool08. Looking forward to it!
I will be expecting you
:)
And here goes my entry
https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@chinyerevivian/home-or-for-inkwell
Beautiful story ❣️, I love how you made the theme yours.
Thank you, Ruth.
PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
wrestlingdesires tipped agmoore (x1)
wrestlingdesires tipped amirtheawesome1 (x1)
@wrestlingdesires(11/18) tipped @samostically (x1)
Join us in Discord!
Here is my entry.
https://peakd.com/@abidemiademok21/the-beginning-of-a-new-dawn
This is my entry
https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@emeka002/christmas-eve-in-skywalker
Hi everyone, this is my first time participating in the weekly prompt. I sure hope I do it well.
My entry is The Light
I hope you all enjoy it.
And I have quite a number of comments I don't know which to put here😊
Thank you for this oppourtunity.
I've read a few of the works of others and didn't want to be left behind in this joy. Here's my entry...😆❤️
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@deraaa/back-home-within-the-light
Happy day to all!!!
My comments:
@urbani1
@wrestlingdesires
My entry:
The sterility of a young couple leads them to Tibet. There, a light guides them to meet the abbot, who grants them a baby for adoption.
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@katleya/the-ink-well-prompt-42-the-magical-light-leads-jane-to-her-destiny
Hello everyone,
My entry for this week is Season of Light
Feel free to check it out and enjoy it.
Thank you.
The vibe here is beautiful and contagious so yes,I made an entry too❣️
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@ruthyann/a-beacon
Hello, The Ink Well! Here's my entry: https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@gabmr/feathered-guts
My comments went on:
Cold Revenge by @dympha.lady
The Eclipse by @mcluz
Home by @chinyerevivian
Greetings here. We are indeed in the season of lights. Check out my entry.
Dark Age
It is always a delight to write here.
My entry;
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@kei2/weve-always-been-here
Hello everyone, please check out my entry to this week's prompt, thank you.
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@khaleesii/the-inkwell-prompt-42-a-little-bit-of-kindness-a-little-bit-of-light
Sorry guys, busy week... but I manage to finish my entry, none the less The Point of Convergence.
Here is a joke, I got burned out other day, so I tried Actifit quoting from my post:
"I burned out ma braincells, so I'll take them out for an exercise to "jog my memory."
Get it "Jog my memory". 🤣.
Light and darkness might not be what you think of them at first
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@amirtheawesome1/counter-flow-entrance-into-the-street-of-light-the-ink-well-prompt-42
My entry: The Festive (Not Farewell) March of the Seven Suns
My comments:
My entry
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@ozohu/bright-little-companions
Comments on @mrenglish and @milezofplay posts.
Thank you for the prompt, I enjoyed reading the community member's stories. Here's mine:
ecency.com/hive-170798/@diebitch/lighten-up
It really is fun, isn't it?
Here is my entry for the contest. So many great stories in this thread!
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@one-eye/season-of-light
Waiting to see what the muse directs you to write.....