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Dear community, Welcome to Prompt #13 in our creative nonfiction initiative. Thank you to everyone who contributed a nonfiction story last week! We are so thrilled with the personal stories you share. SO MANY of them are amazing that it is always difficult to choose winners —! Here's a quick overview of how it works: Each week, we will provide a creative nonfiction prompt. You are also welcome to post other creative nonfiction pieces that are not based on the prompt. See the guidelines below. To be curated, your content should follow our guidelines, be at least 350 words (but ideally 750 -1500 words), be written in English, or another language as well as the English translation, and — as much as possible — free of errors. We also expect everyone who posts stories in The Ink Well to read and comment on the work of at least two other community members for each story published. (Thank you!) There are many guides and resources online for getting to know this wonderful genre. It is truly about storytelling. The simple difference between creative nonfiction and fictional stories is that the story is not made up. We like this definition from an article on creativenonfiction.org: Simply put: Creative nonfiction is true stories, well told. With creative nonfiction, you are using the literary and storytelling tools of a fiction writer to craft stories from real life experiences. Set the scene. Give the details. Profile the characters. Give us the dialog, as best you can remember it. Ideas and inspiration: Creative nonfiction stories can be snippets from your life autobiography — moments in time you want to capture in words, whether they were frightening, enlightening, bittersweet, or life-altering. They can be observations about life, about a time you connected at a profound level with a perfect stranger, or something you have learned along the way that made you a better person. Do you love podcasts? One of the greatest sources of creative nonfiction is The Moth Radio Hour. Listen to a few of the stories from The Moth, and we guarantee you will be inspired. Here are some additional resources for learning more about the creative nonfiction genre: Check out this list of creative nonfiction stories. For example, one of the stories is about a funeral for a lizard named Rango. We hope you are inspired! Here are some examples of what we are looking for: In other words, tell a story from real life. And illustrate the ideas you share with real world experiences, memories and observations. Here’s what we are NOT looking for: What will be muted: Thank you to all who participated in last week's prompt: In search of SELF! Our honorable mentions for last week's prompt are: Our third place winner is @lightpen, with his story, My Defining Moment. I was angry and we confronted the man. He confessed and apologized after reporting him to the traditional ruler of the town. We accepted his apology and moved on but I sat and reflected on everything my father told me. Money avoids many insults. It was then that I realized that if I continued with my wayward life, I would end up becoming useless to myself, my parents and the society and I must be ready to encounter many of such insults later in life. Our second place winner is @abdul-qudus, with his story, Discovering Myself. Most times I think about who is there controlling me to do what I ought to do next and there are decisions I have to make all for myself. Am I truly the person I thought I am? Many dreams about seeing myself in several places but who was there in my dreams and who is the dreamer? I believe I must have been in the shadows for a very long time. Yet the question still keeps reoccurring, who are you? Our first place winner is @maam.sammy, with her story, Lighting Up the Life of Others. And with that, I knew that I had found my calling. I would do everything in my power to help kids like the boy on the subway platform, to give them the chance to succeed and thrive in life. I knew that I wanted to do something to help kids like this boy. I wanted to be a teacher, to provide support and guidance to those who might not have had the same opportunities as others. As I thought about the boy on the subway platform and his troubled background, I realized that everything happens for a reason. It may be difficult to understand or justify the actions of someone who has made poor choices in life, but if we take the time to truly understand their circumstances and where they come from, we can begin to see things from their perspective. Congratulations, @maam.sammy, @abdul-qudus and @lightpen! Heritage is many things. It is the deep past of our grandparents and the society in which we were raised. It is the collection of cultural customs from our families that influence our lives and our choices. It is the cultural icons, the monuments, and even the architecture that tells the story of our past. And it is the set of values we hope to pass on to our children. Here are some ideas for what to do with this prompt: We look forward to reading your stories. Have fun! Please use the tags #creativenonfiction and #inkwellprompt on these posts. And please remember to add your post link to a comment on this post! NOTE: Please refrain from providing advice, guidance, or suggestions to others about their life choices in your post. Creative nonfiction is about storytelling. Prizes! Deadline You have a week, until the next prompt is posted, to post your creative nonfiction story in The Ink Well community. See you in The Ink Well!
What Is Creative Nonfiction?
-- Reedsy blog: What is Creative Nonfiction? The Unputdownable Truth
-- Writers.com: Understanding Creating Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write ItGuidelines for Creative Nonfiction Articles in The Ink Well
Last Week's Creative Nonfiction Winners
Honorable Mentions of the Week
Third Place: Wins 1,000 Ecency points
Second Place: Wins 3 Hive
First Place: Wins 5 Hive
The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Writing Prompt #13: Heritage
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