Source: Meta AI
Welcome to the Weekly Fiction Prompt
Hello community members! Thank you for joining our weekly writing prompt!
Getting Started
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.
Please also check out these additional helpful resources: * You will find all kinds of great resources in our catalog of storytelling tips. * You can learn more about our community and the expectations of community members in our treasure trove of tips and guidelines. * We are always about quality first. Never about quantity. To achieve the kinds of awards you want, take the time to write quality stories and check them for errors. See the topic of the month, "Don't Miss This Step" in the March 2025 newsletter to learn about using tools (and using them properly) if you are not already doing this. We do notice when you don't take the time!
Stories from the Previous Week
Thank you to who posted a story for last week's prompt: "Life of the party":
- @gertu
- @marriot5464
- @abrarhussain
- @almadepoeta
- @ubdan313
- @edith-4angelseu
- @oyebolu
- @tranquil3
- @zerah
- @daeze-winnie
- @nancybriti1
- @sherah
- @perfect20
- @happy080
- @rare-gem
- @bisolamih
- @coolbabe88
- @caramel10
- @abojode
- @gabmr
- @popurri
- @jennyzee1
- @corporateay
- @trexane
- @farahikram
- @lara-bee
- @hazmat
- @offia66
- @beckyroyal
- @rinconpoetico7
- @faithwellington
- @universoperdido
- @delightedpen
- @yummycruz1
Author Shout-outs
As always, we received some excellent stories for last week's prompt. Here are a few of the stories that received high marks from our curators.
@trexane
Curator comment:
I challenge the reader to start this story by @trexane and not finish it. Won't happen. Once this author has you in his grip, he holds you there until you have learned how it all works out. This is a tale with a bit of classic hubris, some super hero thrown in, and intergalactic warfare. The pace is snappy. Read it. It is war, but there is no graphic violence, only what is necessary, and tempered.
@happy080
Curator comment:
Video lends itself easily to slapstick. Not so much writing. For a writer to pull off physical comedy effectively is a feat. @happy80 achieves exactly this hard-to pull off trick. She helps the reader visualize a hilarious scene and she keeps that scene dynamic. In this story there is jollof rice flying through the air. There are staid aunties dancing improbably. And there is a character who literally falls on his face. This juxtaposition of events is perfectly paced in this story and the result is decidedly comedic. The story is well edited, organized and funny.
@gertu
Curator comment:
Are we not all accustomed to the lyrical fairy tale where the lovely princess is betrothed to the handsome prince? In this exquisitely constructed tale, @gertu offers us longing, sorrow and tragedy. A maiden is promised, by her father, against her will, to the prince in exchange for an idyllic lake. She bows to her father's will, but in the end chooses to become one with the lake instead of being tied for the rest of her life to a husband she did not choose. As years go by the vision of this sorrowful young woman may be seen rising from the lake. @gertu hits a home run with this original story.
Nicely done, writers!
Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week
This week's prompt is: "The short straw"
Sometimes, when there's a difficult or dreaded task to do, and no one in the group wants to do it, there's a way to settle it with straws. (Or it could be sticks, matches, etc.)
One person takes the exact number of straws that are in the group, and cuts one of off at the end to make it shorter than the others. But he must hold them in his hand so that they all appear to be the same length.
Now, the people in the group take turns selecting a straw and pulling it out of the bunch. The person who pulls out the short straw must take the action. It's a quick, random way to keep things fair.
What might you do with this prompt? * Perhaps some children in a household use this game to determine who must be the one to go take out the trash in the rain. * Or maybe at the office, the boss explains that there is a new project from a returning client that no one likes. When everyone groans, the boss has them choose straws to see who gets the short one. * Sometimes "getting the short straw" is just an expression. When someone has to do a difficult task, like make dinner for a bunch of picky teenagers or clean up after a party, someone might say, "It looks like you got the short straw!"
Those are just a few ideas. What will you come up with? Tell us a story!
Good luck. 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 — please use the free Grammarly tool for grammar and spelling checks (and not AI writing or rephrasing tools for revising)
You can find more on all of these topics in the catalog of storytelling 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Hashtags: Please use these hashtags: #fiction #writing #inkwellprompt #theinkwell.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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!")
- 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 or manipulate 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](https://peakd.com/