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721 stories
Novellas & New Roast: Tips from an ONC Winner
Whether it's your first time or your sixth time, writing a novella in 12 weeks isn't easy.As a 2021 ONC Winner and two time Honorable Mention (2023/2024), I would know. After years of participation and reflection, I have lots of advice to share on how I did it. Inside this guide, you can find everything from insider tips to timeline and planning suggestions to craft chats. So grab a cup, get your notebook, and settle in; it's time to start writing!Copyright © 2022 Elle Chaika.
Missed the Frame
✨ONC SHORTLIST, HONORABLE MENTION, AND AMBASSADOR PICK✨Back home in his small town after suffering an accident, U.S. Marine Hayes McAdams tries to find a new purpose in life. Picking back up his old love of photography, Hayes agrees to let his friend Dylan set him up with a couple of photography gigs. But what Hayes never expects is for Dylan to accidentally set him up to shoot his ex-girlfriends wedding. Will Hayes be able to handle working with the girl who absolutely broke his heart, along with her unruly future mother-in-law, or will he once again have to say goodbye?"If the world is a frame I guess I belong somewhere out among the stars."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -This is an entry for ONC 2021. The prompt I will be using is #29: "I am in the mood to dissolve in the sky." -Virginia WoolfEnjoy!
The Magic of Stories
Straight out of uni, Lynn is glad to have secured a job as a replacement in a library. But soon she finds out the place is haunted, and not only by a blue cat. Juggling the upcoming vernissage of a photo exhibition and the trouble with her coworker, she has to learn fast - to trust her instinct-and the magic of the stories.Once 2024, prompt #15: "Why are you glowing blue?"
Falsetto | T. Drake ✔
"Music is not the only thing that, Can touch the chords of one's heart."[Timothy Drake][Started: 02/13/2021][Completed: 04/17/2021]Cover made by @Purplemist14***[ONC 2021 Longlist Qualifier] Written for the Open Novella Contest 2021, this story uses the prompt #86: the school's popular student (Stephanie Brown) and the sports player (Reece Parker) are mistaken to be in a relationship while in reality, they have the most epic friendship.
Time Agent | ONC2024
LONGLISTED : When Agent Seven Three is sent on his first mission to the past, to sort out a problem with the timeline, he expects to be in and out in a couple of days. Identify what is causing the unplanned divergences and stop it. Simple, right? But when he encounters reporter Jack Brown, he finds the situation is far more complex than he was led to believe. And only when he meets someone he's not supposed to fall in love with, does he begin to really test his limits.SCIFI / TimeTravel / LGBT / Romance
Annie & Noah
Fresh out of a troubled marriage, Annie Nolan is faced with picking up the broken pieces her ex left behind. She moves back into her parent's pool house and reconnects with her old friend, Noah. With a Pandemic taking over the world, Noah wants to be the one to fix her problems. Is it possible that after fifteen years, Annie and Noah could move past the friend zone and become more?
The Truth that wasn't there
To predict the actions of rebels in Usehjiki, the Jiki Clans Authority seeks the help of Jera Franklin, a woman who has long been an enemy of the state.-Will they succeed? Or will they make a deal with the devil that the clans will, forever, live to regret?---ONC AFRICA 2021 🏆GRAND WINNER🏆
Rain Rain Go Away | #ONC2021
|| ONC 2021 HONORABLE MENTION || ONC 2021 ROUND TWO FIRST PLACE WINNER ||Three friends.One secret.Thoughts of a summery vacation in the middle of winter sounded fantastic until all plans to enjoy the Caribbean sights were thwarted by an unexpected tropical storm, keeping everyone inside. Normally spare time without current-day distractions would be beneficial to a group of long-time friends always too busy to spend time together otherwise, but this is one trip down memory lane they're going to wish they never took...----------Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2021Mystery & Thriller - Prompt #55ONC Round One Qualifier - 03.23.2021ONC Round Two Qualifier - 04.20.2021ONC Round Two First Place Winner - 04.24.2021ONC Round Three Qualifier (Longlist) - 05.21.2021ONC Shortlist - 05.30.2021ONC Honorable Mention - 06.29.2021©2021 M.DaltoPublished to Wattpad 02.01.2021Draft Completed 05.02.2021
The Girl with Scars | #ONC2024 ✔ Shortlister
#ONC2024 Round 2 Ambassadors Pick | Shortlister (Finalist)When Prince Oskar decides to disguise himself and goes out into the village to see what the people are like, he is met with a shocking sight. There are orphaned children in the streets, beggars at every corner, and people fighting for their next meal. The kingdom of Unara has never seen poverty and the royal family looks out for the people. Why is this village struggling?As Oskar returns every day, he befriends one of the village's deformed members. A young woman with multiple scars on her face. Taking pity on her, the prince gives her one of the rings on his fingers, intending for it to bring her a better life. However, the woman is soon arrested for being in possession of this ring and Oskar knows she is innocent. Until he discovers she possesses a ring with the Unaran royal crest. This is not the ring he gave her. (The Royals of Unara)Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2024 | @OpenNovellaContest - Rules & Guidelines: https://www.wattpad.com/story/359598678©2024 E. S. Elias All Rights Reserved.Created & Published to Wattpad 02.01.2024Completed: 04.27.2024Main Prompt #55;"You're a young royal in disguise who befriends a villager with a scarred face. One day they are arrested for stealing something you gave to them."Secondary Prompt #67;"A promise is a promise. A secret is a secret. They must not tell anybody."Cover: Me @DesignsbyEHImage was generated using Dream.AI by Wombo solely for the purpose of making my book look pretty. Cover is temporary and subject to many changes.Word Count: 24,689 / 20,000Round 1 ✔ | 2,000 words ✔Round 2 ✔ | 8,000 words ✔ | Ambassadors Pick ✔Round 3 ✔ | 20,000 words ✔LONGLIST ✔ | SHORTLIST ✔Rankings;#opennovellacontest #31 on 02.20.2024 | #ONC2024#opennovellacontest2024 #15 on 02.20.2024
The Clockmaker's Shadow | ONC 2021 | LGBT
(HONORABLE MENTION) Rik Sandro is a dimension traveller. Jumping from one version of the world to another was intriguing at first, until he discovered he can never go home. Now all these new beginnings are just a pain. Maybe it's time to stay in one place. Maybe it's time to settle down. Maybe it's time to fall in love. However, when his latest lover is murdered, Rik fears that he's being stalked and now, he might not have any control over how, where, or when, his life will end. (HONORABLE MENTION and ROUND TWO WINNER ONC2021 )A clockpunk adventure, my entry for the ONC 2021. (Clockpunk / LGBTQ / Romance / Horror)
Inside Man | ONC2023
SHORTLISTED. Paul Finn wakes to discover that not only is he feeling horribly sick but, more worryingly, the naked stranger in his bed isn't moving. If only he could remember what happened...My story for the ONC 2023, a thriller scifi adventure, with a touch of romance. (SciFi /Adventure / LGBT)
Scaling Moss and Stone ✔️ || #ONC2022
Sealed within Kealie Gothalis are the secrets of a magic destined to flood her kingdom.Trading her Mortality to disguise the heritage her mother fears most, Kealie is gifted with a blessing. She need only do one thing; keep her kingdom in the dark until the dusk of her twentieth birthday. But her control over the ancient magic is slipping......Along with her Willpower.|| Open Novella Contest 2022 |||| Complete 4/30/22 ||
Haunted
The dead typically want one of two things. Ghosts crave conversation. Spirits seek pain.My name is Bria, and I've been able to interact with the dead for as long as I can remember.Communicating with the deceased might sound like a cool gift, but let me assure you, it's not. Ghosts don't shut up, and not all specters are friendly. In fact, most of them are dangerous.Pretending the paranormal doesn't exist is far easier than talking to the shadows, so I've been avoiding the dead for years. Past experiences have led me to avoid the living too. And for a long time, I've successfully kept my distance.Until a single ghost encounter in the library ruins everything.Now a couple of my classmates know my secret. But as it turns out, they have a deadly secret of their own. Time to talk to the shadows again._______________This story contains profanity and violence.[ONC 2021 Shortlister]
Mixed Messages
Hayley Taylor was looking forward to a drama free senior year, spent with her three best friends. She was content with her mediocre social status in school and admiring her long time crush and neighbour Charlie Boyd from afar. All that changes when she is included in a group text by accident throwing her life into chaos and potentially the arms of Charlie. She knows she has to stand up for what's right, but at what cost?*Open Novella Contest 2021 entry* Prompt 73. In a group chat you reply to a message that was not aimed at you and yet you inadvertently start something with your crush.
Z-BITES
[The Nano Watt 2023 Shortlist][ONC 2021 Longlist] The world as Evren once knew changed massively from doing homework to fighting for survival in a zombie infested planet. Countries were wiped out within months some even days. Bringing a global impact on food and resources. But the infected wasn't the only thing Evren had to worry about. Her last group encounter had created a major target on her back when they found out what she had been keeping a secret. Surviving on her own after the tragic events that left her scarred, she realized the living was far more wicked then the dead. Which brought out a reluctance to trust anyone ever again....Until she wakes up in the arms of a boy she thought was dead.✨Round One Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨✨Round Two Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨✨Round Three Longlist in Open Novella Contest✨🥇Fist Place in Mystery/Thriller:Lucky Charm Awards(May 2021)✨Longlist in The Nano Watt 2023✨✨Shortlist in the Nano Watt 2023✨#ONC2021 | Prompt 38 | Prompt 2‼️Content/Trigger Warning: Contains gore, violence, some strong language.All rights belong to the author and no reproductions are allowed without the permission of @Renaissance1111. Please respect the author's copyright. 😊❤️©2021 C.S Marie
Bewitched
Malise is given one last chance to prove herself, or else, she'll be kicked out of her coven. And the world isn't safe for a witch on her own.Elvira hates witches and her only goal is to find a cure for her sister's magic. But when she gets put on trial for witchcraft herself, it changes everything she thought she knew.Enemies, and yet, they slowly find themselves bewitched by each other.This is my entry for the Open Novella Contest 2021, using the prompt:"On occasion, an accusation of witchcraft has the power to set one on a wonderful, dangerous path."
Let Me Be
After being ordered by the State to undergo Deep Sleep, a treatment for troubled teens, Jo awakens in the hospital with sporadic and unexplained memories. Upon celebrating her rebirthday, she recalls strange past events that makes her question reality. Did she really awaken, or has she become trapped in Deep Sleep? *****🏆 Round 2 Winner - Open Novella Contest 2020🏆 Longlisted - ONC 2020🏆 Shortlisted - ONC 2020 *****ONC 2020Prompt 15
OFFLINE REALITY
Online and offline. What's the big difference? Well, between living online and offline, Sky would better off be living online. He didn't need to worry about people knowing who he was, nor did he have have to stress about how other people looked at him. There was nothing wrong with being more open and daring online. Little did he know that being friendly online would bring about unwanted trouble offline.
The Sharded Blade | Part 1 (A Dark Fantasy Novella)
What happens when death is not the end? For one assassin, it wasn't. Now, in order to die, he must continue to kill.⭐2020 Ambassador Pick⭐⭐2020 ONC Shortlister⭐⭐2020 ONC Honorable Mention⭐The Sharded Blade (Part 1: Ghosts of the Past) was my entry into the 2020 Open Novella Contest (#OpenNovellaContest2020) and is approximately 24k words. It didn't place in the Top 5 and win, but it did receive a very kind Honorable Mention from the Wattpad Ambassadors who ran the contest. I am deeply thankful for all of you who read and enjoyed this story. Parts 2 and 3 (turning this into an entire novel length story) are currently being worked on.This story is based on the following two prompts ... with some liberties taken:4. When something tragic happens, it's often said we lose a piece of ourselves. How far would you go to find these lost parts of yourself in order to be whole again?45. You are possessed by a demon. The only way to cast it out is to kill 7 people - each representing one of the 7 virtues.
Best Way Out
In a dingy karaoke bar, sparks fly.-Amirah Begum has always believed in happy endings. Even after everything she's been through, whether it be years ago when she lost her favourite pair of light-up sneakers or three days ago, when she got dumped by the girl she thought was the one of her dreams, she hasn't lost her dream of a happy ending.So, when she finds a brooding stranger doing the exact opposite of what she lives her life by, she makes a pact to help them get their happy ending, and maybe re-evaluate her own definition of a happy ending in the process.-started: february 3rd, 2022.completed: april 24th, 2022.
![Why Me? [ONC 2021]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/257308968.jpg "Why Me? [ONC 2021]")
Why Me? [ONC 2021]
** COMPLETE **Gordon Twist gets a surprise note from a man who dies in front of him. No warning or explanation given. Who was this man? Who did he think Gordon was? And what does this note mean?Gordon is stuck in a nightmare. People want to protect him, but is that for his own good or theirs?This story was originally written for the Open Novella Contest 2021. It made it through to the Long List, which I was quite pleased with.
Bad Business Practice -Long Listed ONC2021
PROMPT #59 - MYSTERY/THRILLER ENTRY IN THE 2022 STORMY NIGHTS READING CHALLENGEHarold Pope, contract killer by accident, takes advantage of that fact and crafts a successful, financially beneficial career until, through another accident, becomes his own contract!
Son of Krypton, Daughter of Earth
ONC 2021 Fanfiction prompt 13 and Romance Prompt 71.This novella is a non-canon version of Superman, with some of the same characters and places.Lexy Logan is sent from an Earth like ours where Superman is a fictional character to one where he is a real man, Clark Kent. Clark befriends her and helps her live in his world until she has to leave. She falls in love with Clark and tries to hide her feelings to protect them both, but he falls in love with her, and can't hide his feelings, but they accept what they can share until she must leave.
Open Novella Journal 2021
Every year since the second Open Novella I've kept a writing journal and this is the one for this year.