Source: Pixabay
Here it is!
Our treasure trove of helpful guidelines, reminders and tips for successfully participating in The Ink Well community. This information was formerly included in our monthly newsletter, but we decided that it deserves a permanent spot in our collection of resources.
Many of the reminders in this article are common issues we see in The Ink Well posts. We are sharing them here so you can access them anytime.
Thank you to everyone who works hard at writing quality stories, following The Ink Well rules and guidelines and supporting other authors in the community!
1. Do not use AI tools, except to check for spelling and grammar, and to create images
We have asked that you do not use AI tools to generate stories. What you do elsewhere is your business, but we do not allow it in The Ink Well.
Additionally, we ask that you do not use AI tools like Quillbot to rephrase and rewrite your stories. If you do that, you are still using AI to generate and manipulate content. It is not your natural writing and if it is detected by our tools, you will not be curated.
The one tool we sanction for assisting with the quality of your writing is Grammarly. It is simple and free to use for checking spelling and grammar. Please only use it for simple spelling and grammar corrections.
NOTE: Do not use the AI features to rewrite your stories! Our AI detectors will identify your work as AI and it will not be curated. (We provided a full walkthrough of why stories that are edited and rephrased with AI tools show up as 100% AI in our AI detection tools in the February 2025 newsletter. We recommend you visit that post.)
AI for image generation is okay.
2. Check for errors before posting
In The Ink Well, we look for quality. If you dash off a story without refining it, this is obvious to the reader, and to The Ink Well admins. If we have trouble understanding sentences, or words are missing or misspelled, or the pronoun "I" is written in lower case, or periods are missing from the ends of many sentences, then it is clear you did not take that little bit of extra time to review your content before posting it.
The good news is there are some simple tools:
-- Make use of Hive tools: Most online editor tools, including the ones you use to draft your stories, such as Peakd, will underline items in red that are likely misspelled or not used correctly.
-- Draft your content in Google docs: Google docs has a good editor feedback tool too. It will underline items in red, and you can click on them to select the suggested fix. It is very easy to do and it is explained in the post Help for the Grammatically Challenged.
-- Use the spell checker in Grammarly: Grammarly is a free tool for checking the quality of your work.
However, note that you should not use the rephrasing or rewriting capabilities of Grammarly, or any other tool, because it will get your story flagged as AI developed.
-- Review your work before posting. You will most likely find a missing word, a grammatical error, a misspelling or a sentence that does not start with a capital letter, etc. Reading through carefully is one of the best things you can do before you submit your story.
3. Do not portray violence (or sex) in your stories
It is important to know that stories featuring violence are not allowed in The Ink Well. We won't accept or curate stories involving rape, incest, beatings, stabbings, murders or abuse. This is clearly stated in our rules.
Why?
- First of all it is offensive and harmful to some people, especially those who have endured violence in their own lives and are suffering emotionally from those experiences.
- Second, we cannot screen who views our community content or prevent sensitive audiences from viewing it. We have no way of ensuring that stories in The Ink Well will only be seen by appropriate readers.
- And third, The Ink Well admins choose not to read stories about violence and abuse. This job is challenging enough without facing gruesome shootings, beatings, rapes, child molestation, etc.
So we have defined and enforced rules around this. They are simply this: Don't publish stories in this community about violence, rape, or abuse. You can see the full details in the article on our stance on violence.
Note: Our No Violence rule also applies to creative nonfiction stories (your real life stories) about family experiences and upbringing. This means that even if whippings or beatings were considered normal in your household as a child, you will need to choose another community if you want to describe those experiences. Stories involving harm to children are traumatizing to some people, so the retelling of them is not allowed in The Ink Well.
We also don't allow sexual content or #NSFW (not safe for work) content.
These rules have proven to be very difficult for some writers to follow, so we have a very simple way to remember: If a story is too offensive for children, then please don't post it in The Ink Well.
4. Write fully developed stories — 750 words or more
We provide resources to help you with all of these important fiction elements in our catalog of storytelling tips. Improving the quality of your story will result in better rewards!
Stories that are under-developed often seem flat and uninteresting. Sometimes they are simply too short to include all the important elements of a story. These include character development, scene setting, dialog, action, a conflict, and a resolution. The conflict and its resolution form the story arc, which is especially important for fiction.
We highly recommend that you write stories of a minimum length of 750 words.
We have found that stories less than that length are nearly always missing something, and do not have the quality and merit that we are looking for in the stories we reward with top curation.
If your story is less than that length, then it is highly likely that it could use more development in one or more of these areas:
- Better scene setting. Does the story happen in a cold season or a warm season? Are the birds singing? If it takes place by the sea, is there the sound of crashing waves and seagulls crying? (See our article on settings.)
- More character development. Does the main person in the story (even if it's yourself) have certain characteristics that contribute to the events of the story, such as a sense of humor or a propensity to get angry? Who are the people involved? Not just their names, but their characteristics and behaviors. (See our article on developing memorable characters.)
- More dialogue. When people are talking, we get to know them. Dialogue brings your characters and your story to life. It makes them seem real and believable. Adding more dialogue can instantly enrich your story and better engage the reader. (See our article on How to write dialogue.)
- More development or description of the conflict. Conflict is crucial for all stories. It is the reason for the telling of the story. It can be as minor as a disappointment or as major as a critical illness or death of someone important. Whether you're writing a fictional story or a creative nonfiction story, make sure to include the feelings and reactions of everyone in the story who is affected by the conflict. (See our article on adding conflict.)
- A more developed resolution. The story's resolution is also critical, whether it is a fictional story or a creative nonfiction story. Sometimes stories just seem to end abruptly, and it's like hitting a wall. We want to know why things happened the way they did, and we want to see the full scenario play out. (See our article on story arcs which is another word for the development of the story, its conflict and its resolution.)
The articles linked above were written to help fiction writers, but the same principles apply to creative nonfiction. To help creative nonfiction writers to learn how to assimilate these storytelling qualities, we cover some of these principles in our article on creative nonfiction tips for success.
5. Remember to provide the original story with translations
Please include your original story, in the language in which it was written, after the English version. This is because the tools we use to identify content written by AI (which is not allowed in The Ink Well) work more effectively in native languages, and it will help us avoid falsely identifying a story as AI-written.
So, if you use a translation tool to translate your story, you must provide the story in English as well as in your native language. Thank you.
6. Avoid morals, lessons and author intrusion
When we read stories, whether they are fictional or creative nonfiction stories, we do NOT read to be taught something. We do NOT read to find out what the author has to say about the story at the end. We do not read to learn lessons about kindness, thoughtfulness, God, politics, or anything else.
We read to be entertained, and to experience something outside of our own daily lives — just as we do when we watch a movie or a TV show. And, we want to draw our own conclusions at the end of the story.
When the author provides a summary of the lesson to be learned from the story at the end, this is called author intrusion. You can read our article on author intrusion in our catalog of fiction writing tips.
So — please do not add a lesson or moral, or write a story or creative nonfiction piece for the purpose of instructing, teaching or preaching. Thank you!
7. Please follow these important rules for images
We have three important rules around images:
- All images must come from license-free or creative commons sites, such as Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, or Wikimedia Commons. Or they can be your own images. (You may not use images you find on Google, Pinterest or a website. Those are copyright protected. You may not use images you have taken of other people's artwork. These are also copyright protected)
- You must provide attribution for ALL images — even if they are your own.
- For any image that is not your own, you must link to the image. For example, if you find an image on Pixabay, the source link you provide must be the URL of the page on which that image appears.
- Please always provide the image source, even if it is your own, or you generated it with AI tools. No matter what, we need to know where your image came from.
- We recommend that you only include one or two images with your story. Let your words tell the story. Images can actually be very distracting. Thank you!
8. Do not use images of public art in your story
If you are wondering whether it is okay to use photos of public artwork (even graffiti) in your posts, the answer is (mostly) "NO."
It's interesting because this is a new area in the realm of copyrights and ownership rights of creative works. Here's what you need to know:
- Graffiti, public artwork, statues, murals, and other creative works are protected under copyright laws, like other creative works.
- You may photograph these works and use them for personal purposes — for example a Facebook post that shows you were in Milan standing in front of the Medici Chapel.
- You may not include an image that you took of street art, murals, artworks or other creative works that you took with your cell phone or camera in a Hive post. The reason is because "unauthorized commercial use resulting in income to someone other than the artist" is prohibited. Do we earn income from our Hive posts? Yes we do. So must absolutely use only images that are available under a creative commons license, or otherwise are not copyright protected.
- You may use images of public works if they appear on a creative commons site such as Wikimedia Commons, or if they are available in the public domain.
We know it seems complicated, but it's really not. You simply cannot take pictures of artwork, murals, sculptures, graffiti, and other creative works that others have produced and use them in your blog, as that constitutes earning income from another person's creative work.
9. Be aware of the difference between fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction
In The Ink Well, we are all about storytelling. When you make up the story from your imagination, it is called "fiction." When you tell a story from your real life experiences — with characters, conflicts, action, and dialogue — that is creative nonfiction. Other types of nonfiction are not accepted in The Ink Well.
That's why all of our creative nonfiction prompt posts start out with a pointer to our article describing creative nonfiction.
Be sure to read that article before posting nonfiction in The Ink Well!
Here are a few important notes:
- Creative nonfiction is real life storytelling.
- Your story must include elements of fiction, such as characters, dialogue, scene setting, action, a conflict and its resolution, etc.
- Do not post other types of nonfiction in The Ink Well, such as advice columns, self-help information, a report on your health, essays on life, etc.
Here are some examples of nonfiction vs. creative nonfiction:
Nonfiction: How I spent my day.
Creative nonfiction: The day I spent with my father when I finally realized how much he loved me.
Nonfiction: Three ways to improve your mood.
Creative nonfiction: How I spent two years recovering from depression with the help of a friend.
Nonfiction: The political strife in my country.
Creative nonfiction: The night my husband and I pretended our country is not at war and had the time of our lives.
10. Please be sure to use the appropriate tags:
- #fiction for fictional stories
- #creativenonfiction for non-fiction stories
- #inkwellprompt for all stories written for prompts in The Ink Well
This is important because a) it's not always easy to tell the difference between fiction and nonfiction (and readers consider its merit accordingly), and b) it makes it possible to search for those tags when we review stories for winning entries.
11. Remember to add your story link to a comment on the prompt post
If you are entering a story into one of our fiction or nonfiction contests, you must add a link to your story in the comments.
We try to catch all entries as we list the participants and winners, but it is extra work for us to find those who have not added their link to a comment on the prompt post and we do not always find them. If you miss this step, you may miss out on being considered for contest prizes.
12. Engage in the community
Hive is all about community! One of our expectations is that everyone who posts in The Ink Well will engage with other members by reading at least two other stories for each one you publish in the community.
Community engagement helps to build a strong foundation for a mutually-supportive community, and helps community members to get to know one another, and built trust and mutual respect.
Not only that, but it means almost every story gets read and commented on by at least a few readers. And everyone likes that. There's nothing worse than publishing something and feeling like no one will ever see it!
Right and Wrong Ways of Commenting on Others' Stories
So, wait... there are right and wrong ways to do this?
Yes, there are. And we DO look at the comments and see how you all engage with one another's posts. This is because it is all part of how we assess your involvement and how to reward your content.
If we comment on your story that we recommend you write more meaningful comments, it is because your comments do not indicate an interest in the story, or even that you actually read it.
Let's look at some examples.
Wrong ways of commenting:
Here are some examples of comments on stories that we never want to see, because they indicate the commenter did not actually read the story:
- Example 1: Nice post.
- Example 2: I really like your story. Keep up the good work.
- Example 3: You have a way with words. Nicely done.
From these comments, we have no idea whether the reader actually read the story, and what story elements they found interesting. The Ink Well admins have a low tolerance for this behavior. We will automatically reduce the amount of curation rewards you would have received for your own story. If it's a repeated behavior, you will not be curated.
Right ways of commenting
Notice how each of the following comments describes something specific the reader noticed in the story.
- Example 1: Jeremy was really lost. What a relief that his sister understood his pain and got him the help he needed.
- Example 2: This story is tragic and yet beautiful. I was so happy to see that in spite of everything that happened, the hill people will survive.
- Example 3: You have a very nice storytelling style. I was really captivated by Tallulah and her plight, and was so relieved when she found the hidden box and was able to help her family.
Do you see the difference? If an author receives a comment like one of these, imagine how they feel! The reader made it clear that they paid attention while reading the story, and that they had an understanding of the author's intention. (No, you don't have to compliment the author, if you didn't love the story. Just write something that clearly indicates you read it and got something from it.)
So, when we say we care about engagement, and we expect everyone in the community to read and comment on at least two other community members' stories for each story published, this is what we are looking for.
13. Continue building your writing skills
Source: Myriams_fotos on Pixabay
In The Ink Well, we're not just about posting content and getting rewards. We are about building skills that help you earn the best possible rewards because your readers love to read your stuff!
We are here to nudge you to strive for greatness. You know how it feels when someone says, "Wow, just wow! I loved your story!" That's what it's all about. And the good news is that the rewards follow. If people love your work, they give you great upvotes. They seek you out. They want more of your creative content. And curation accounts like Curie, which we utilize and support, will give you the best possible upvotes too.
So what are you waiting for? Use our resources to build your skills and improve your writing. Here are some of the resources we provide:
- Creative inspiration
We encourage and support ideas and creativity by publishing a weekly fiction contest prompt and a weekly creative nonfiction contest prompt. Additionally, we have a nearly inexhaustible list of ideas to spur your writing. And these resources are included in every weekly prompt for reference: 50 Loglines, 50 Story Ideas, and 50 Imagination Ticklers - Skill building opportunities
We have a great catalog of storytelling tips that can help any writer learn and grow. You can learn about characters, conflict, scene building, dialog and more. We hope you take advantage of it.
Find Us on Discord
Our Discord server is a great place to chat with other community members about the craft of writing.
Please pop into our Welcome channel, read our guidelines for conduct, and then feel free to interact with other community members or ask The Ink Well Team a question in the #ask-theinkwell channel.
Discord invitation link: https://discord.gg/Bng7mMsaQj
We Reward Our Delegators!
We appreciate all the delegations we have received! Delegations enable us to support the writers in The Ink Well and run contests!
The Ink Well now pays out curation rewards for your delegations!
By delegating any amount of your Hive Power to the @theinkwell account, not only will you be supporting the writers and the community as a whole, but you'll also earn rewards.
These rewards are paid out on a daily basis, proportional to the amount of HP you delegate. This is similar to other big curation projects, but you'll be directly supporting fellow writers and The Ink Well community — one of the creative epicenters of Hive!
Delegate to The Ink Well / Follow Our Curation Trail
Want to support our community, our contests, and our rewards for great quality content? See the table below. We have made it super easy. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have a goal to continue increasing the support we give to our wonderful, hardworking and dedicated authors!
You can follow our curation trail by going to our hive.vote curation trail page and clicking the follow button.
We welcome delegations! These support our community in many ways, including helping us to provide support to quality content creators through curation and contests.
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