Open Novella Journal 2024

Filling Out the Form - Prompt Use

There are two questions they're going to ask of you regarding the prompt use.
- "How are you utilizing this/these prompts?"
-"If you are altering the prompt, please mention how you are doing it."

This is all in one spot, but it wouldn't hurt to practice writing up your response as you write your stories, nor would it hurt to rewrite the answer to this question as you get further into ONC.

Of course, using the answer "I used the prompt as is" may seem like the easy go-to answer if, say, you're using the "'Your mom was an alien.' Exactly what a child needs to hear from their father as a bedtime story," but you should articulate by saying how this relates to your story overall.

And definitely don't leave out a prompt element. This isn't to say you'll get nixed for not mentioning it, but it is reason for them to scrutinize your story more, such as the case last year when the writer likely mentioned they had the pop idol move in next door and didn't mention anything about them being a recluse and sticking to themselves which in turn - well, the pop idol was a very sociable neighbor in the very first chapter which was within the first 2k, so is it any wonder this one got nixed?

Edit - Almost forgot. Keep notes on how you've implemented the prompt, the when and where for the final round because they will be asking that during the final round, but the prompt should be implemented in some shape or form before the final 20k.