The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #136 - Plus Weekly Challenge and Prize Announcement

_{Source: Pixabay}

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: Check out our monthly fiction contest for the month of September, 2023, ending September 30! And be sure to honor the countdown timer! 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: "I miss you". And we encouraged authors to integrate all of the storytelling skills that make stories compelling and readable.

Stories From the Previous Week

Thank you to everyone who posted a story for last week's prompt!

• @ayokunlehenry
• @marriot5464
• @fashtioluwa
• @balikis95
• @gabrieladifazio
• @eliany
• @edystringz
• @toluwanispecial
• @b0s
• @seunruth
• @jjmusa2004
• @marynn
• @rinconpoetico7
• @teknon
• @jazclassic
• @lara-bee
• @lightpen
• @amiegeoffrey
• @kemmyb
• @timix648
• @jhymi
• @ibbtammy
• @cool08
• @popurri
• @ricardo993
• @rammargarita

Honorable Mentions

Our honorable mentions of the week are:

• @jazclassic: Those Days of Missing Her
• @b0s: The Paradox of Second Chances
• @fashtioluwa: Two Ladies and One Man
• @gabrieladifazio: The Ghost of What We Used to Be
• @ricardo993: Different Perceptions
• @edystringz: I Miss You

The Winners!

All of these authors wrote fantastic fiction using the prompt, and did an excellent job with the storytelling skills we look for in the best-told stories!

This week we have two winners who tied for third place!

Tied for Third Place: Wins 2 Hive

• @popurri, with the story Carmen, My Childhood Love

"She tells me that her son is no longer moving, that something is wrong. We have to call the vet. Let's go tell your dad".

We ran into the house, and Carmen went into the kitchen and talked to my mom. We didn't know what she said, but within an hour, Dr. Morales arrived and went into the pen where Lucero had started calving. The calf was in distress, but with the help of the doctor, my father and Carmen, everything turned out well and Long legs as we named her, had already stood up and was looking for her mother's udder to drink the rich, warm milk.

Tied for Third Place: Wins 2 Hive

• @seunruth, with the story You Mother, My Sister

"You heard me. In your mind, you're only thinking about how she's your mum and how I'm the bad guy for barring you from contacting her all these years, but she's my sister too."

"Oh." The storm in Maya calmed and she sighed. "So why did you do that to her?"

"Because I loved her. I still do."

"What kind of love is-"

"The kind that sacrifices comfort. You're not the only one that lost her, Maya. I lost my big sister. She's been the only one on my side since childhood and even when I was messing up, doing drugs and moving with bad company, she didn't hesitate to drag me by the ears and dump the drugs where I wouldn't find them." Her voice shook.

Second Place: Wins 3 Hive

• @teknon, with the story Brush Strokes of Love

Some minutes later, she was out, dressed in a short red sequin dress, her lips covered with red lipstick, her hair folded up into a messy bun, with black stilettos and a black purse to match. The streets were bathed in a soft glow of lights, glistening with the shimmering remnants of the recent rainfall. Tracey took a deep breath as she crossed the road. Her footsteps created ripples in the puddles that had formed. She wrapped her hands around her body as she walked down the pavement to the bar that sat a few blocks away from her house.

First Place: Wins 5 Hive

• @kemmyb, with the story, Homecoming

Every part of me ached as I gingerly dragged myself into the shower stall. It was a familiar feeling. As a soldier, pain is a gentle reminder that we are alive and the war is still on.

I turned on the cold shower and winced as the sprays stabbed at the aching areas of my neck and back. I closed my eyes and got tenderly lost in the images of my husband and children, laughing and teasing each other at home.

I turned off the shower and quickly got dressed. My flight home was in three hours and I couldn't wait to surprise Nathan and our children. They were my anchor. My present deployment to the war-torn parts of Angaldj was supposed to be for eight months but it had extended into fourteen months, with the last three involving an undercover operation.

Congratulations to @kemmyb, @teknon, and @seunruth and @popurri!

This Week’s Prompt

FIRST: A COUNTDOWN NOTE
Be sure to submit your entries before the countdown ends.

You must submit before the end of the countdown to be considered for the prizes and honorable mentions.

Please observe the timer below this post. If it's purple, and the COUNTDOWN time is in the future, you can submit and be eligible for prizes and honorable mentions.

If the countdown is gray, and the timer has expired, you can submit, but your story will not be eligible for prizes or honorable mentions.

When the timer expires, we get busy reviewing all the stories, and no further submissions are considered.

Prompt of the week!

WAIT! Did you read the information above about the countdown timer? Okay, proceed!

This week's prompt is: "Wonder."

What to do with this prompt?

"Wonder" is one of those words that can mean several things, depending on the context. A character can wonder what to have for lunch, or whether her fiancé is going to ask for her hand in marriage while they are on a romantic cruise. A child can feel wonder at the amazing sights at a zoo, or while looking at the incredible views at the Grand Canyon. And many people wonder whether they are living up to their full potential.

Bring us stories of wonder, whether it is someone questioning their life's purpose, being in awe of something magical, or wondering about their place in the world... or whatever you are inspired to write!

Use Your Storytelling Skills

For many months we have asked our community members to focus on a skill each week, such as character development or dialogue. Going forward, we are looking for all of these skills as we identify winners and honorable mentions:

• 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.

To be eligible for prizes, you must write a story based on the prompt (be sure to use the prompt word(s) in your story), and demonstrate the fiction writing skills we have been encouraging everyone to practice. Be sure to turn to our catalog of fiction writing tips for guidance!

Ready, set go!

A week from now, we will select winning stories that demonstrate these qualities and utilize the prompt. Good luck! Be sure to read the contest rules and reminders 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:

• 50 Loglines
• 50 Story Ideas
• 50 Imagination Ticklers

Weekly Prompt Rules:

1. 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.
2. Story link: 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: 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. But 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 a *minimum of 350 (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. Thank you!
8. NEW — 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.)

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}

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

Interested in joining our community? Start by joining Hive!

Join here at Hive Onboard

Already a Hive member? Click Subscribe at the top of The Ink Well community home page.

_{Questions? Ask The Ink Well on Discord.}

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.

50 HP	100 HP	500 HP	1000 HP	5000 HP
click here	click here	click here	click here	click here

A big thank you to all of our delegators:
@jayna, @felt.buzz, @agmoore, @marcybetancourt, @itsostylish, @marlyncabrera, @stormcharmer, @selftheist, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @timix648, @samsmith1971, @jackdeathblack, @josemalavem, @riverflows, @generikat, @mineopoly, @hazmat, @treasuree, @innfauno12, @kingsleyy, @popurri, @nancybriti1, @marriot5464, @marynn, @jjmusa2004, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @moneykeep, @mrenglish, @stuartcturnbull, @marilour, @rinconpoetico7, @funshee, @amiegeoffrey, @loveah, @balikis95, @jhymi, @cool08, @rukkie, @raymondpeter, @emreal and @eunice9200.

_{Click banner to visit our community page}

_{Find us on twitter by clicking the banner above.}