The Inkwell Fiction Prompt #234

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: "Don't sweat it":

@ubdan313
@nachomolina2
@marriot5464
@sherah
@edith-4angelseu
@almadepoeta
@zerah
@george-dee
@oyebolu
@coolbabe88
@mathewdaddywah
@marsdave
@lara-bee
@rare-gem
@restcity
@rinconpoetico7
@fantom22
@julie100
@ghost-art
@popurri
@delightedpen
@treasuree
@faithwellington
@jennyzee1
@farahikram
@ellizy
@pretemi
@caramel10
@rammargarita
@glorydee
@corporateay
@venom2951
@bisolamih
@abojode
@amma1
@deborahofweb3
@riya2020

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.

@sherah

I'll Pick Family Over Fame

Curator comment:

In this story, @sherah's main character reflects on her sister’s lifelong sacrifice and must make a life-changing decision in her honour. A poignant piece with a relatable inner conflict. Good structure and perfect pacing.

@edith-4angelseu

The Tragedy

Curator comment:

@edith-4angelseu writes an emotive piece about the bond between two brothers, and the pain and guilt that haunt the older brother when a decision he takes inadvertently places his brother in the line of fire, resulting in his little brother's untimely death. The author handles survivor's guilt well and explores healing through therapeutic dialogue sensitively. A good read.

@riya2020

Growing Old with You

Curator comment:

@riya2020 brings a sweet story about an elderly couple spending a peaceful afternoon reminiscing about the past. The story with a very smooth arc and is an enjoyable read.

Nicely done, writers! We normally pick three writers to showcase, but there were so many great stories last week that we had to showcase a few more. You guys rock!!

Fiction Writing Prompt of the Week

This week's prompt is: "Hostage"

A person can be taken as a hostage by a criminal who wants money in exchange for returning the hostage safely. It happens enough that there are people who have specialized training in how to negotiate with hostages! But as we can see from these three short story ideas generated by ChatGPT, that is not the only idea for a "hostage" story:

The Last Broadcast (Psychological Thriller) A late-night radio host receives a chilling call from a man claiming to be holding someone hostage—and he’s in the building. As the hours tick by and the city sleeps, the host must unravel clues hidden in the caller’s cryptic statements, all while keeping his terrified audience calm. But the real hostage may not be who he thinks. (Remember: Stories must not include violence.)
Held by Memory (Literary Drama) An elderly woman suffering from dementia believes she's being held hostage in her own home, but the truth is far more heartbreaking. As her daughter struggles to care for her, the story alternates between the present and the woman’s fragmented memories—revealing secrets that have kept them emotionally captive for decades.
Paws for Negotiation (Humorous Fiction) When a spoiled golden retriever takes an entire doggy daycare “hostage” by refusing to give back the staff’s cell phones, chaos erupts. The staff, desperate to recover their devices before pick-up time, must outwit the stubborn canine using treats, squeaky toys, and some light bribery. A comedy of errors ensues—because who’s really in charge here?

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; #90 Spirit; #91 [Fire](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-prompt-91-plus}