The Inkwell Combined Writing Prompt #42 ~ Fiction or Creative Nonfiction
Published on HivePostify by @theinkwell · Wed Jul 22 2026
Source: [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/road-one-way-rain-street-4606351/)
Welcome to the Weekly Writing Prompt from The Ink Well We provide one weekly writing prompt for short story writers. You may choose to use the prompt to write a fictional story (made up from your imagination) or a creative nonfiction story (based on your real life experiences).
IMPORTANT: To be considered for curation, you must include one of these tags on your post: Fictional stories: #fiction Creative nonfiction stories: #creativenonfiction
You must also read and comment on the work of two other community members. Remember: We look for this when we curate your story. If we don't see this engagement, we will either provide a reminder or skip curating your post.
It is also very helpful to the admin team when authors add Fiction or Creative Nonfiction (or CNF for short) to the story title!
Before You Post in The Ink Well Be sure to check out our community rules before posting in this community. You can find them at the top of our [home page](https://peakd.com/c/hive-170798/created). They also appear at the top of a new post window.
Please also check out these additional helpful resources: Learn more about our community and the expectations of community members in our [FAQ post](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/important-faqs-about-the-ink-well-dos-and-donts-rules-and-tips) and our [treasure trove of tips and guidelines](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-treasure-trove-of-tips-reminders-and-guidelines). Peruse our collection of great writing resources on everything from character development to how to write dialogue in our [catalog of storytelling tips](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/catalog-of-fiction-writing-tips-from-the-ink-well). Learn more about creative nonfiction, how it differs from fictional stories, and tips for success in [our post on creative nonfiction tips](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/creative-nonfiction-what-it-is-and-tips-for-success). Remember that we are always about quality first. Never about quantity. To achieve awards in The Ink Well, 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](https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-walking-alone-on-a-field-in-dense-fog-16254468/) 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!
Last Week's Winning Story of the Week
Thank you to everyone who shared a story for the last prompt, "[The chair](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-inkwell-combined-writing-prompt-41--fiction-or-creative-nonfiction)"!
Each week we pick one of our favorite stories of the week and award the author 5 Hive.
And we have a winner! Congrats to @neotopher for his story [Play or Lose](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@neotopher/play-or-lose-fiction-enes-eoa).
Here's what our curators had to say:
> @neotopher's story will have readers on the edge of their proverbial seats as his characters compete to gain their own seat. The story features a television game show, a competition for a grand prize. It is a game of musical chairs. This sounds like an ordinary, mundane contest, but the way this author tells the tale it is a gripping drama. We root for the protagonist, Sofia, despite her ruthless competitive spirit. Sofia's character is clearly defined in this well-paced story.
Congratulations, @neotopher!
Short Story Writing Prompt of the Week
This week's prompt is: "Detour."
Everyone ends up on a detour at some point in life — whether you are traveling and find that you must reroute because of road construction or an accident, or a road you want to travel along is closed due to flooding.
But there are other types of "life" detours as well. A person might think they are destined to be a surgeon, but can't make it through medical school. Another person might think they are going to get married and have children by the time they are 25 years old, but circumstances or unexpected problems may get in the way. Or someone can have a clear vision that they will be completely focused on their career... until they fall hopelessly in love.
Here are some ideas from ChatGPT to inspire you.
Fictional Short Story Ideas
1. The Scenic Route
Running late for an important job interview, a woman's GPS reroutes her because of a road closure. Forced to take an unfamiliar country road, she stops to help an elderly man whose truck has broken down. Their conversation leads her to question whether the prestigious job she's pursuing is what she really wants. By the end of the day, she has missed the interview, but found an entirely different opportunity that feels more like home than success ever did.
2. Exit 27
A long-haul truck driver always passes Exit 27 without a second thought. One stormy night, he reluctantly takes the exit to avoid an accident on the highway and discovers a tiny diner where every customer seems to know something about him that they shouldn't. The unexpected stop forces him to confront a family secret he's spent twenty years trying to outrun.
3. The Missing Passenger When a commuter train unexpectedly stops because of a signal failure, two strangers begin talking to pass the time. One is traveling to file for divorce; the other is on the way to propose marriage. Their conversation becomes an emotional detour that causes both to reconsider the life-changing decisions awaiting them at the end of the line.
Creative Nonfiction Short Story Ideas
1. The Detour That Saved Me
Write about a time when life didn't go according to plan—a lost job, a canceled wedding, an illness, a move you never wanted to make, or another major disappointment. Reflect on how what initially felt like a setback ultimately led you somewhere better, or at least somewhere you needed to be.
2. The Road Not Taken (Literally)
Tell the story of an actual detour during a trip or commute that became memorable for unexpected reasons. Perhaps getting lost led you to a remarkable place, introduced you to someone unforgettable, or provided a moment of clarity that changed your perspective on your life or relationships.
3. Detours of the Heart
Explore the many emotional detours that make up a life—the careers you almost pursued, the people you almost married, the dreams you abandoned, and the unexpected passions you discovered instead. Reflect on how detours are often where life's most meaningful stories are found.
The "detour" prompt is really fun because it can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. Whether it's a missed exit on the highway or an unexpected turn in life, detours invite writers to explore the tension between the plans we make and the surprising paths that ultimately shape who we become.
What ideas come to mind for you?
Good luck! And of course, you are welcome to use AI to generate ideas and images, but the writing must be your own! We do not accept stories that are AI-generated or heavily edited by AI. Only use tools like Grammarly to fix spelling and grammar issues.
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](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/catalog-of-fiction-writing-tips-from-the-ink-well).
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](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-writing-prompts-50-story-loglines) - [50 Story Ideas](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-fiction-prompt-6-50-story-ideas) - [50 Imagination Ticklers](https://peakd.com/fiction/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-prompt-13-50-imagination-ticklers)
Rules: 1. Accepted content: Remember that we only accept short stories (fiction or creative nonfiction). We do not accept advice columns, personal development articles, reviews, chapter stories, recipes, etc. We also do not accept posts about violent, gory, bloody, brutal, sexist or racist themes, NSFW (not safe for work) stories like erotica, stories with a political or religious agenda, or stories featuring abuse of any kind. (We have a complete article about [The Ink Well stance on violence and brutality](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/violence-and-brutality-in-fiction-the-ink-wells-stance) for more information.) And do NOT use AI tools to write or manipulate your stories. You must provide your own unique content. 1. Post link: Please be sure to publish your story in [The Ink Well](https://peakd.com/c/hive-170798/created) community, and post a link to your story in a comment on this post. 1. Hashtags: Use the #fiction tag for fictional stories and the #creativenonfiction tag for creative nonfiction stories. You can also use #writing, #inkwellprompt and #theinkwell.
1. Images: Please only use images from license free and creative commons sites, like [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/), [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/) and [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/). You can also generate them with AI tools. Images you find on the Internet are copyright protected and cannot be used. Be sure to provide all image source links.
1. 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" and they tend to be missing important character development. See the "story length" topic of our [September 2025 newsletter](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/september-2025-updates-and-monthly-fiction-contest-from-the-ink-well) for resources on how to improve and further develop your stories.)
1. Translations: If you post a story that has been translated from another language, please include the English version first, followed by content in the original language.
1. 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.
Past Prompts After 241 straight weeks of fiction prompts (and nearly as many creative nonfiction prompts) we have started a fresh new series! If you'd like to see the full list of previous fiction prompts, you can find them at the bottom of [fiction prompt #241](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-inkwell-fiction-prompt-241).
Thank you for being a part of The Ink Well! @jayna, @gracielaacevedo, @agmoore and @yaziris.
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We invite lovers of creative writing to visit [The Ink Well](https://peakd.com/c/hive-170798/created), a Hive community started by @raj808 and @stormlight24 and run by @jayna, @gracielaacevedo, @agmoore and @yaziris
Tags: #hive-170798#fiction#creativenonfiction#contest#writing#inkwellprompt#theinkwell#community#creativecoin