The Open Novella Contest is back for 2025! Join a society of writers and take on the challenge to create a timeless 20,000+ word novella in 12 weeks! Your epic quest begins February 1st, 2025 - so mark your calendars with this date!

When an orphaned, DACA, pre-med student with a secret gift and a fiery CEO with a legacy to protect are forced into a marriage of inconvenience, the Mayan Moon isn't the only thing causing turmoil. Roger Catzín, a pre-med student with a knack for healing wounds with a whisper and a touch, never imagined his nightly stroll under a blood-red moon would derail his life. But then again, Central Park has a reputation for surprises, and not all of them pleasant. Enter a dramatic old man with a cryptic message, and Roger's life flips from mundane to mystically entangled faster than you can say, Mayan Moon. On the other side of town, or more accurately, on the upscale side of life, Claire Williams navigates the corporate jungle with the grace of a seasoned CEO-a title she earned but now fears losing to the whims of fate, or worse, a grandfather who apparently moonlights as a matchmaker from beyond the grave. When Roger and Claire's worlds collide, courtesy of a will that reads more like a romantic comedy plot than a legal document, they find themselves legally bound in holy matrimony. Who said romance is dead? Mayan Moon is a novella that asks the important questions: Can a man who talks to the moon and a woman who commands the boardroom find common ground? Will they uncover the mystery behind the old man's attack and the secrets Chester Williams hid in his will? And most importantly, can two strangers fake a marriage without killing each other or, dare we say, falling in love? Dive into a story where magic is real, the moon is a guide, and love is... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Roger and Claire have enough on their plates trying to figure out why fate (or a very eccentric old man) decided they're a match made in legal documentation. Mayan Moon delivers laughs, gasps, and maybe, just maybe, a belief in the magic of the unexpected. Participant in the Open Novella Contest 2024 | Prompt: A midnight stroll and a meeting with a frantic stranger.

A vampire named Citlali receives an email from an old lover who broke her heart centuries ago. The message says the immortal is dead and she left a key for Citlali in a bank in New York. But the same message had been sent to two other persons whose identity Citlali ignores and the safe can only be opened if the three of them are present. Dear Citlali is a queer polyamorous paranormal romance. This story is set in the For Centuries Universe but can be read as a standalone. Cover by Bartholomé Girard

Grady just wants to grieve the loss of his ex in peace, but then Quinn's younger sister, Taryn, whirls into his Texas hometown, looking to stir up the past. She brings in a wave of goons with her and a mystery that's well beyond his pay grade. Still, it's Grady's job to serve and protect, and as much as he may want to, he can't deny his involvement. Or Taryn's plea for help. Quinn's life may depend on it... | Featured on @Romance / Romantic Suspense | | @Mystery / Book of the Month / Stand Out Mysteries (April 2025) | | ONC2024 Round 2 Ambassadors' Pick |

[1st draft - unedited] ONC III: LONGLISTED Previously featured on Magic/ YAFantasy/ MythandLegend/ CommunityInteractive/ HighFantasy/ StoriesUndiscovered/ and Watt-Dragons ×× Always drawn to the susurrus of an enchanting forest, Alyviah finds herself giving in to the xylophilia coursing through her not once, not twice, but too many times. Surely, it mustn't be related to the arcane whispers of her parents or the handsome stranger she keeps stumbling upon, or the old tales of dragons and a curse no one knows anything about...right? However, too many questions are unanswered, and too many things remain unexplained. And so, she finds herself forced to figure out not only her past but also her future...something Alyviah never thought she'd go through considering the sheltered life she'd had up until one night when she snaps out of a trance that consumed her, only to find herself in the middle of a war that's been brewing for years...a war that she had no idea about, yet played a huge role in. Because, after all...Platinum shall rise with an unquenchable thirst for justice...and kingdoms shall fall. ×× Warning: The story contains some violent scenes of war/fights and death. + If you are reading this on any site other than Wattpad then it is being unlawfully shared. Mirror sites often contain malware so please protect yourself and the work of this author by reading only on Wattpad. ×× 1k reads on June 3rd, 2020. ✅

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 totally understand. 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 craft chats to contest commentary. So grab a cup, get your notebook, and settle in: it's time to start writing! Copyright © 2022 Elle Chaika

Sapphire's mournful howls of despair and grief pierced through the battlefield between her fits of hopeless sobbing. It was the sound of heart being shattered into a thousand, tiny bleeding pieces as the mermaid looked upwards. It was as if she was making a vow to the Heavens themselves. "I'll never love again." The words were so soft that Aphrodite almost convinced herself she hadn't heard them at all. They felt more like the echo of a whisper hidden within a half-forgotten dream, but the goddess of love heardthem all the same. "Well, that sounds like a challenge." Open Novella Contest 2020 Entry Based off Prompt #65. You declare to the Heavens that you will never fall in love again. Aphrodite takes that as a challenge.