Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well Prompt #58

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Welcome to The Ink Well's weekly creative nonfiction contest!

In this post, we'll announce the winners from last week's contest and provide the prompt for the coming week.

Before You Write Your Creative Nonfiction Post...

We ask that you read our Creative Nonfiction Tips post to learn about the creative nonfiction genre and review our guidelines.

Important notes:

Creative nonfiction stories are based on your real-life experiences.
We are looking for real short stories! Not advice columns, reports on crime or corruption in your city, observations on nature, recipes, religion, politics, or any other nonfiction content. Just real-life short stories.
Ideal story length is between 750 and 1500 words, but your story must be at least 350 words, at a minimum to be curated.
Please focus on quality content. Read and edit for errors! Use a grammar checker before you post your story.
We expect everyone who posts in The Ink Well to read and comment on at least two other stories for each one published.
Do not post stories featuring physical abuse, graphic violence, erotica or NSFW content.

Last Week's Creative Nonfiction Winners

Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt Home

Last week's participants

@samiwrites	@merit.ahama	@borderline.babe
@iskawrites	@zyzymena	@kilvnrex
@marynn	@marriot5464	@emreal
@mrenglish	@rare-gem	@nancybriti1
@samsmith1971	@fashtioluwa	@abigail04
@rammargarita	@vivaebony	@wongi
@phyna	@jazclassic	@amiegeoffrey
@hamez	@moclassic	@jjmusa2004
@mmykel	@rukkie

Featured

Highlighting @mmykel, with the story:

The only home I now know

I eventually mounted a bike. The bike charges against the darkness. The wind ferociously chased us, causing my eyes to be teary. The whole world became hazy. But what I really wanted was clear to me. I just wanted to treat myself to a sumptuous dinner and a cold bath before retiring to my cozy bed, the only place I now call home.

Curator's comment :

Mmykel writes the most gorgeous CNF about finding a reason to return home after years of being away. When he visits his old home to see a girl he's interested in, he discovers that his new abode has replaced his old without ado.

Featured

Highlighting @nancybriti1, with the story:

A home is not a house, it can be a person or a tree with branches

-Get down! -Grandma would say again, now with more character. Then I would go down and make endearments to grandma, who always smelled of stew, bay-rum and coconut oil. I would hug her and tuck her between my arms, like chicks do under the chicken's wings and say:

-You're never going to cut down the tree, are you, grandma? -Grandma would smile and make a negative gesture that filled me with joy.

Curator's Comment:

Nancybriti1 gives us a beautiful piece for the CNF prompt. She begins her narrative by referring to a tree that everyone in the family regarded as the sole property of the grandmother of the family. Grandmother comes to life, with cooking scents, and healing balms. She is the center of a large extended family and we come to know her as nancybriti1 must have. The piece is poignant but not saccharine. It is quite expertly constructed. In the end, the grandmother dies and her tree is cut down. The symbolism is powerful.

Featured

Highlighting @kingsleyy, with the story:

The only home I now know

After they left, I realised I gave my dad's friends too much. "Did they use voodoo on me?" I wondered. From that moment on, I decided to play stingy all through my stay before I got wrecked to the extent of looking for a transport fair when returning to my base after the festive season.

Curator's comment:

kingsleyy writes an interesting and entertaining CNF about having to glad-hand village people and family members when he returns home; reason being that if you live in the city, they all assume you're rich and expect you to fork over cash when you're back home. He provides some great color to the story with details and dialogue.

This Week's Prompt #58:

Make up, Makeup or Make-up

Makeup, make-up, and make-up all mean different things-read this lovely article to get a better feel for the words.

Tell us a story about your life in a creative manner that uses one or all of the words above as a seed. There are many options:

Perhaps a friend hid behind her makeup as a mechanism to shield her vulnerability, and you helped her find her true self.
Maybe you lived in a make-believe world you'd made up for yourself as a child, and you struggled to leave it behind as you approached adulthood.
You might've been the target of a story that someone made up, and it ruined your year.

Tell us about it! And remember to integrate storytelling elements like characters, scene setting, dialogue and action to bring your story to life!

Have fun and good luck! We look forward to reading your stories.

Contest Rules

You have 6 days to write your story from the date of this prompt post. Be sure to check the deadline countdown.
Write a real-life story with the creative elements of fiction, like characters, dialogue, scene setting and a story conflict.
Post your story in The Ink Well Community.
Please use the tags #creativenonfiction and #inkwellprompt on these posts. Other possible tags: #writing #inkwellprompt #nonfiction
Stories must be written in English. If you've translated the post, it's best to add the original version below the translation. Do not write mixed language paragraphs.
Read and comment on at least two stories in the community. Add a link to your story as a comment on this post.

And be sure to remember to join The Ink Well community!

Prize

A prize of 20 Hive and 200 Hive delegation will be awarded to one submission every four weeks.

Procedure

Two or three stories will be featured every week. One of the featured stories will win the grand prize every four weeks.

The winner will be featured in a special announcement post.

Interested in joining our community? Start by joining Hive!

Join here at Hive Onboard.

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We invite lovers of creative writing to visit The Ink Well, a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @yaziris, @samsmith1971, @gracielaacevedo and @itsostylish.

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A big thank you to all of our delegators:

@jayna, @felt.buzz, @agmoore, @marcybetancourt, @itsostylish, @marlyncabrera, @selftheist, @stormcharmer, @iamraincrystal, @preparedwombat, @gracielaacevedo, @timix648, @samsmith1971, @jackdeathblack, @josemalavem, @riverflows, @generikat, @mineopoly, @hazmat, @treasuree, @innfauno12, @kingsleyy, @popurri, @nancybriti1, @marriot5464, @marynn, @jjmusa2004, @universoperdido, @morey-lezama, @evagavilan2, @moneykeep, @mrenglish, @stuartcturnbull, @marilour, @rinconpoetico7, @funshee, @amiegeoffrey, @loveah, @balikis95, @cool08, @rukkie, @raymondpeter, @emreal, @eunice9200, @holler, @tomiajax and @ricurohemi28.

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