The Open Novella Contest is back for 2026! Join fellow storytellers and plant the seed of a tale that will blossom into a 20,000+ word novella within 12 weeks! Your epic quest begins February 1st, 2026, so mark your calendars with this date!

"A prophecy speaks of a rare moment when all nine realms align and a single flower blooms with the power of eternal beauty. But if the flower is plucked, it will wither at once and with its death, everything will fall, leaving only you behind."

Jake spent years building a life he enjoyed with a fulfilling tech career, close supportive friends, and the one biological family member who had ever cared for him. But a year after his best friend, Austin, has a baby and his brother moves out, Jake is the primary one maintaining those connections and feeling left behind. When his friend Austin connects him with Vi, an aro-ace woman with similar frustrations, who wants to start a family free of the obligations of romance and sex, they connect as friends, and it shapes how he envisions his future.

Kai Liang was called a legend long before he ever became an adult. He bears a Mark capable of bending light and ending the war that has been devouring his country for years. Now everyone calls him a hero. Everyone wields him like a weapon. But a year ago, he killed his best friend... or at least, that's what he keeps telling himself whenever he needs another reason to fall apart. Since then, he tries too little, jokes too much, and sleeps even less. Because every night he dreams the same scene: a rooftop under the rain, a black crack splitting open across skin... and Yue watching him as he dies. They say the Marks choose those destined to save the world. But Kai Liang has always known how, and when, he will die. And when a dark power brings Yue's body back to life, the vision becomes reality.

How do you find your future soulmate whom you have yet to meet? Better question; how do you find them within the week? Any ideas? All you know is that if you don't, you will lose them forever. So wouldn't you drop everything and try anything to find them? ONC Prompt: 90. You receive a voicemail from someone you love, recorded one hour after their confirmed death. Started: Feb 1, 2026 Ended: ~ Book Blurb/Author Notes can be found after the last current chapter ~ Cover created in Canva ***This book might contain occasional colorful language***

To revive the fallen God of Spring, the God of Winter must journey to the sky's end with the God of Death, only to realize that bringing back Spring may cost him his own soul. ⋯⋯⋯ ❝ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏᴅꜱ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ.❞ Muli, the God of Winter, is a threat. His touch brings death, and Xua, the God of Spring, learned this too late. With the Star of Spring gone, the mortal realm is trapped in an endless winter. To bring Xua back to life, Muli must reach the Edge of the Stars, and he cannot do it alone. With the help of Ansa, the elusive God of Death, Muli's journey through the seven kingdoms forces him to face his past, present, and future. As they approach the Edge of the Stars, the cost of their mission becomes clearer. To save a life, Muli must choose what he is willing to give up: his soul or the god he loves. The gates are open. The stars are watching. And Muli is about to discover the ultimate truth. ❝ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏᴅꜱ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ.❞ ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2026 (First Edition) Updates every MONDAY (8:00 AM, GMT+8) [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby]

She wakes with missing hours, a burning imprint carved into her shoulder, and no memory of who put it there. Nyxara Blackvein is an assassin who survives by control. Control over her body. Her blades. Her choices. But the mark beneath her skin has a will of its own, pulling her toward Stillreach-a city protected by an impossible shield and a power no one dares to name. Torin Cross was never part of the plan. A half-elf swordsman with a charming smile and secrets of his own, he's headed in the same direction for reasons that don't quite add up. When violence forces them to fight side by side, trust forms before either of them is ready for it. Whatever waits in Stillreach is already watching. Prompts used. 32. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment holds a much bigger truth. 86. A wasteland hides pockets of thriving communities protected by mysterious shields. 99. You wake up with a strange mark on your skin after a late-night encounter you can barely remember, and its meaning grows more unsettling by the hour.

EVERYONE THEY TOUCH DIES - EXCEPT EACH OTHER. For 423 years, Libby has been a walking biohazard: one accidental brush of skin and it's game over. Now she's the world's oldest virgin, a shut-in, and a not-so secret romantic who spends her nights writing about the experiences she can never have firsthand. But she isn't alone. For centuries, a robed figure has watched her from the edges of history. Libby assumed he was a hallucination, a coping mechanism for a mind fractured by four centuries of solitude. Then one night he slid into her DMs. And after four centuries of living without a single IRL connection, Libby is ready to be touched by a Reaper - whatever the cost. NOTE: This story is one of my Wattpad ONC 2026 entries. I wrote it in response to Prompt 114: "An immortal being, worn down by centuries and cursed so that anyone they touch dies, starts searching for a way to finally end their endless life. But Death, who has grown possessive and infatuated with them, refuses to let them go." ⚠️ TW: death, dirty language, sexual content, suicidal ideation.

**𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝. ** Lyra is a werewolf. Well, sort of. Unfortunately, her wolf is not fully awakened, and all of its instincts and urges-hunting, fighting, biting- are instead building up inside her. The result? A tiny "aggression issue". At least, that's how her coaches, the referees, and pretty much every opposing team would describe it. On the ice and on her skates, Lyra is fast, tough, and mercilessly efficient. Off the ice, she reliably stumbles into situations that can only be described as emotional blow-ups. For example, there's Cassian, the hockey star of the Iron Hawks, her rival team. "Cas" is a picture-perfect werewolf, Lyra's personal nemesis, and the alpha male stereotype par excellence. As much as she would love to punch him in the face every now and then, he knows exactly how to push her buttons. And then there's the vampire - Valen. An elite skater who makes it his mission to help her with her aggression on the ice. What starts as a harmless deal quickly turns into a dangerous, emotional wildfire. Because Valen is far too charming, with a damn seductive smile. One that clearly promises things that are neither suitable for minors nor compliant with the rules. One explodes just as quickly as she does. The other still smiles even when everything is burning. Both of them drive her crazy. And both seem determined to take each other out of the game. Lyra wanted to play ice hockey professionally. She didn't want a snappy watchdog with a strong territorial instinct or a vampire as her unofficial mental coach. Above all, she didn't want to fall in love. Because one thing she knows for sure: feelings ruin any statistics. Too bad that life doesn't play by her rules.

"When the star-flower blooms beyond its mountain, The one who endures shall mend the fracture of worlds. Neither sky nor stone shall sway her heart, For through her steps, the frozen paths shall thaw." Astraea Edelweiss has always dreamed of seeing her favorite flower in real life. She never imagined it would find her. One star-shaped bloom appears overnight in her backyard-and the moment she touches it, Astraea is hurled into a world of magic, prophecy, and danger. A realm built on a prophecy meant for a savior she is not. The Keepers admit their mistake: they summoned the wrong human. The realm is fracturing. Winter spreads unchecked. Monsters slip through cracks in reality. They want her gone. But Astraea refuses to leave. Not to fulfill the prophecy-but to rewrite it. She discovers the truth long buried in ancient scrolls: the prophecy never said "he." It said: "The one who endures." In a world that rejects her, with fate stacked against her, Astraea must defy magic, challenge myths, and prove that endurance-and courage-has no gender.