The Inkwell Fiction Prompt #227

_{Source: Pixabay}

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: "Fortune cookie":

@whatmidesays
@jemima2001
@norbert10
@zerah
@grimmjoe
@harmony2605
@nachomolina2
@almadepoeta
@lailawrites
@oyebolu
@pretemi
@terjix
@goshen
@abojode
@raregem
@ubani
@favourolayinka
@jennyzee1
@marriot5464
@enalaton
@estilodereba
@bisolamih
@popurri
@corporateay
@treasuree
@caramel10
@kpoulout
@rinconpoetico7
@riya2020
@bestbeauty
@zain-ab001
@venom2951
@edith-4angelseu
@artofkylin
@offia66
@gabmr
@delightedpen
@farahikram
@aiuna
@mbiatabasi
@happy080
@rammargarita

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.

@terjix

Anjonu

Curator comment:

@terjix writes a really spectacular and spooky story, though the spooky part does not become apparent until toward the end. It is mysterious. Why is Tese running away from Lagos? Why won't he talk about it? I will not give anything away. You must read it yourself!

@zerah

Cookie Warning

Curator comment:

A murder mystery structured around a fortune cookie, now that's an idea. @zerah takes this prompt and runs with it as bodies fall around her. Each death is linked to a prediction in a fortune cookie. The author writes an error-free, lively mystery that holds our attention to the last word. A novel approach to a lighthearted prompt.

@popurri

Messages to Leave

Curator comment:

@popurri writes subtle, atmospheric fiction about “unreal” magical possibilities in the real world. This is a magical realism piece that only reaches its potential in the very last sentence; it's that subtle. The story is about a young couple closing up the home of the guy's grandparents, and it's a complete buildup to the driving force that guided their lives and can now be seen guiding that of their grandson. From goosebumps to dreams, this beautiful story has it all. After all, all you have to do to find immortality is simply to dream.

@nachomolina2

Your Fortune Is Gone

@nachomolina2 writes a haunting story, full of the inevitability of a predetermined fate. There is no accidental word in this story, no word that is not leading to the tragic end. From the title, which becomes a refrain in the story, to the last word, the author has control of the narrative. He holds the fate of a doomed character, Nanny. From the moment she enters the car and hears an incomprehensible phrase on the radio, Nanny's fate is sealed. The story is brilliantly constructed and has the precision of language one would expect from a poet.

Nicely done, writers!

Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week

This week's prompt is: "False alarm"

A "false alarm" is a situation where we believe something bad has happened, or is about to happen, and we start taking action accordingly. Or we simply panic. And then it turns out there was nothing to fret about. It was only a false alarm!

When asked to write the synopsis of three story ideas for the "false alarm" prompt, here's what ChatGPT came up with:

“The Fire Drill” (Psychological Thriller) When an office building's fire alarm blares during a routine Thursday afternoon, no one panics — it’s just another drill. But junior analyst Marla senses something off: the alarm wasn’t scheduled, and the security guard is missing. As everyone gathers outside, she notices a figure still inside on the security cameras, moving floor to floor. Is it a prank, or something more sinister? As paranoia builds and the evacuation stretches on, Marla must decide whether to go back in — or accept that sometimes, a false alarm isn’t false at all.
“Echoes in the Dome” (Science Fiction) On a distant Martian colony, sensors detect a catastrophic breach in the biodome. Alarms blare, evacuation protocols begin, and chaos erupts among settlers. But when engineers confirm there’s no structural damage, tensions only escalate. Was it a system glitch, or sabotage? Amid the confusion, a teenage coder discovers a buried AI protocol meant to simulate danger responses. Why was it activated — and by whom? What begins as a false alarm unravels into a conspiracy that could cost the colony its future.
“The Great Catastrophe that Wasn't" (Humorous Drama) Retired librarian Edith Picklethorpe lives for routine: morning tea at 6:47 a.m., Sudoku at 7:15, and watching the neighborhood through her binoculars until lunch. So when her ancient toaster starts smoking and she mistakes it for a fire, she calls 911, sets off the building alarm, and evacuates the entire senior living complex — all while still wearing her “World’s Best Grandma” slippers.

What follows is a chaotic comedy of errors: a confused fire crew, a dramatic neighbor convinced it's a terrorist attack, a rogue cat on the loose, and a very irritated building manager named Stu. As the “emergency” spirals into an all-out neighborhood spectacle, Edith begins to suspect the real crisis may be less about smoke—and more about everyone needing a little excitement.

In the end, “The Great Catastrophe That Wasn’t” is a lighthearted tale of community, overreaction, and the surprising joy of a well-timed false alarm.

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.
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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](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-prompt-75-plus-weekly-challenge-and-priz}