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On the run, Willow stumbles into a bandit ambush and is rescued by a lone traveler. He reluctantly agrees to help protect her on the forest paths if she can guide him to his destination. His distant demeanor suddenly changes after she returns his cloak, not realizing he is a selkie, nor aware that if someone returns a selkie's cloak, the selkie falls in love with them. As they travel, she discovers that he's everything she ever wanted in a husband, but learns that it comes at a cost - and that cost is his freedom. Note: If you're looking for a typical lore-based selkie story, I'm afraid you won't find it here. But if you're looking for a hopeful selkie and an uninformed human, then you have come to the right place. ONC 2025 awards: Ambassador's pick award, Round 2 winner, and Short List award. Based on the Open Novella Contest prompt #110: "20 days of freedom." Cover was made with incredible patience by: SayWatt74 (Cardin Watts)

Harley had a bright future ahead of her, but that dream died a long time ago. ***** Harley vowed she would never return to the city that broke her heart, but old wounds never stop hurting if you keep poking at them. When the phone rings, the city stops, and she's summoned back, she discovers some doors are better left closed. Those you open might never be locked again. ***** WARM HANDS #0.5 Open Novella Contest 2023 -- prompts 42, 45, & 69 [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2023 ROUND 2 WINNER]] © 2023 caterina george // all rights reserved

Stories say that the Witch rained curses down on Devil's Corner, that she made the woods grow strange and wild, made shadows leap and dance and snatch up stray children for supper. In a small town on the edge of a dangerous forest, stories are never in short supply, and they are held dearer than truth. Thea lost her hand to the things that live in the wood, and she can't shake loose the voice that lured her there. But her Pa fed her tales of magic and heroes, and promises that even the darkest things have hearts. When her brother is attacked by the Witch's gruesome creations, Thea breaks into her cottage, determined to save him from a fate she knows all to well. In Devil's Corner, stories are true, and Thea knows the greatest one of all: the only way to break a curse, is to kill the witch. --- COMPLETE - 20,000 words Written for Wattpad's 2024 Open Novella Contest. ONC 2024 SHORTLISTER 2025 AMBY AWARDS ROUND 3 QUALIFIER

When stupid little Lottie threw a stick to throw off a monster (spoiler: it didn't work), she did not expect that it would lead her down the path of an unordinary life with a very unordinary husband. ✽ ✽ ✽ All Lottie had ever wanted was to live an ordinary life out of the shadows of the mistakes she had made as a seven-year-old. After a stranger shows up in the village offering to marry her, she gets exactly what she wished for: a normal, peaceful life with an ordinary husband. They might not have love or kids between them, but life goes on, right? Until a series of unfortunate disasters strike (as they do) and puts her on the doorstep of hell. That's when she finds out her very ordinary husband... isn't so ordinary at all. ✽ ✽ ✽ A loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Set in the same universe as my other series: The Mad Brides. ✽ ✽ ✽ Featured by Wattpad High Fantasy - Neverland | Myths and Fairy Tales 2nd Place in General Fiction - Punk Rock Awards 2023

She was once a character in a deleted story, now lost and memoryless in the Library Limbo. If she wants to get her memories back, she's going to have to work on her backstory - by helping to fix some stories that have gone wrong. Now, she's forced to team up with an overly-peppy cheerleader and a guy who insists he used to be a detective. As they delve into romance, mystery, and fairy tale stories, she realizes that things might not be as simple as they seemed. All she can do is hope the next plot twist isn't her own.

Esme and Matt can't stand each other, even if they have to play nice for the cameras. As public speculation about their chemistry heats up, they're forced to confront what's real versus what's just for show. ***** Esme Mendoza is everything Matt Crain isn't--polished, optimistic, and proud of her golden girl image. He's brooding, arrogant, and impossible to work with. As co-stars in an indie romance film, they're forced to act like soulmates on screen while barely tolerating each other behind the scenes. When their banter and lingering stares spark fan speculation during the press tour, their PR teams jump on the opportunity, but Esme and Matt aren't too thrilled. Suddenly, they're everywhere--public appearances, exchanging snarky remarks in interviews, and fueling endless rumors. As their forced chemistry starts to feel a little too real, Esme and Matt are left questioning: are they just playing a role, or could this be end game? ***** WARM HANDS #1 Open Novella Contest -- prompts 45 & 127 [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 ROUND 2 AMBASSADORS' PICK]] © 2025 caterina george // all rights reserved

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

[ONC 2024 longlister!] The Midnight Moon...or according to Hereward Slaine's case files...The Case of the Missing Witch Hereward Slaine is a puzzlesolver in the town of Morteton. When the town witch, Mistaria Heath, disappears, it seems he isn't going to be given a moment's peace until he takes the case...which he doesn't really want to do... Written for ONC 2024

When Bryony -- herbalist extraordinaire -- goes missing, Bella knows one suspect stands above the rest. The village's aspiring second witch, Daphne, comes from a family that's tried to take Bryony down before, and Daphne seems determined to carry on that legacy. For someone who's always been terrified of Bryony, she's a little too keen on looking into the disappearance. There's just one problem. Bella's insufferable fellow familiar thinks the kid is innocent... and he's been right about worse things before. If Daphne herself is to be believed, clues on the disappearance lead a whole lot closer to home than Bella would like. As the evidence mounts, Bella must choose to either stand by her values and the woman who raised her, or seek what might be a truth she would rather not uncover. Prompt #81: The town's witch has gone missing and no one is looking for her but her two familiars - a crow and a black cat, plus the teen who has always been scared of her. ❖❖❖ Written for Wattpad's 2024 Open Novella Contest. Longlister. Complete. Comments and critiques are both welcome and appreciated. I write characters from many different backgrounds, with many different experiences. If you share those traits and find that I have misrepresented anything, please let me know! I am feedback-friendly and here to learn :)

[Novella]As a child, Sci was scarred by her own mother for being a witch. While the wound has healed and her shawl now covers her face, Sci struggles to remain deaf to the call of the desert wind. She works hard to get into the Scorian army, taking a path riddled with false friends, petty politics, and relentless Rajas. Then, one day, Sci receives an invitation from the palace. A personal message from Queen Rainah. **Cover by Krystal_M**

ONC 2024: In college, it was a case of wrong place/wrong time. Eight years later, they have a second chance. But will they take the leap? ___ Prompt 14: "My muse, believe me, waiting for you has been a form of freedom." ___ Excerpt: "Don't look back." Ian stares at me through the screen with his dark, intense gaze. "Don't long for all the things that might have been. Don't chastise yourself for the decisions you've made." For a moment, his words render me silent. "Appreciate all those little indentations that make you who you are," he says with a tender expression. "And remember your superpower." "What superpower?" "Let yourself dream again." A tender smile crosses his features. "Focus that intense drive of yours on the future like you used to do." He's right. For so long, I've been living in survival mode. One foot in front of the other. Stuck in this nightmare, I haven't been able to see any other way forward. Until now. "You're free now," he says, "to make better choices that will make you truly happy." For a moment, I let my mind take me wherever it wants to go. Right now? It wants to be in Boston, beside him. But can I leave everything behind?

It's been seven years since the outbreak of the zombie virus that nearly wiped out planet Earth of human existence. Millions either perished in the chaos, turned, or fought back. Trying to change the world back to the way it once was, a scientist created an antidote called the ZCure, bringing the dead back to life. Now living in a prejudice gated community with two factions, the Stiffs and the Luckies, ex zombie infected Leona, struggles to cope with that second chance as she tries to survive yet again. Only this time within herself. But things quickly turn for the worst when there's a massive threat against both sides of the district. Will she help and join forces with the other faction, or let her past consume her? #ONC2021 | Prompt 30 | ‼️Content/Trigger Warning: Contains gore, violence, some strong language. ✨Round One Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ ✨Round Two Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ All rights belong to the author and no reproductions are allowed without the permission of @Renaissance1111. Please respect the author's copyright. 😊❤️ ©2022 C.S Marie

* ONC 2023 Shortlister * "She caught the eye of one of the horsemen, and something in his face caused her to pause mid-step. The man he was standing with, realising he was being ignored, turned to see what he was staring at, and his mouth fell open. 'Arner! The prophecy!' he hissed. That seemed to attract the attention of the whole party, and before Aleyna knew what had occurred, they had all stopped what they were doing, and stared openly at her, before tilting their head in her direction, bowing. The last of the men to lower his head, the one who had first spotted her, was now biting his lip, something like worry creasing his brow, before he too bowed." * * * Aleyna, a professor at Lyknisia's Academika, is from a world of science and reason. To her, magic is something found in children's stories. It's not real, has never been real, and never will be real, and nothing anyone can say will change her mind. Arnerstrom, known as Arner, is King of Mynythia. He is from a world of magic and spirits. A world where the unseen is just as powerful as the known, and where prophecy dictates almost everything. But when a prophecy appears to be fulfilled by chance, Aleyna is whisked away from her books at the behest of Arnerstrom, and taken to a land of mystery and secrets. A land where magic is very real and spirits govern all. Set in the same world as The Winter Ghost, but located many kingdoms apart, The Convert Queen is a fantasy romance novella where what you see isn't always what you need to know.

In which I give tips and journal about my own writing journey for Open Novella this year.

Sandrine is reluctant to take the job as a ghost hunter, despite her ancestral gift. And when she meets her boss and future partners, every fibre of her being tells her to quit-but she needs the money. How hard can it be to dispel the ghost of a bird? Soon, she finds herself fighting the advances of a medieval playboy, targeted by a flock of ectoplasmic ravens, and trying to solve the puzzle of the cottage in the lake. With disaster waiting around the corner, she truly has no time for a budding romance, right? ~ ~ ~ My entry for the open novella contest 2021. Prompts: No 5: There is a terrible drought ravaging the land, but when the waters recede from the local lake/reservoir, they reveal something no one expected to find. No 64. What should have been a simple task for a trio of ghost hunters quickly becomes something for which the term 'Worst Case Scenario' is the mother of all understatement. No 61. I would've lived longer if it weren't for Lorraine. There's only one issue... who's Lorraine? Words according to Wattpad: Chapter 1 - 1495 Chapter 2 - 1455 - milestone 1 reached Chapter 3 - 1469 Chapter 4 - 1552 Chapter 5 - 1563 Chapter 6 - 1620 - milestone 2 reached Chapter 7 - 1564 Chapter 8 - 1700 Chapter 9 - 1637 Chapter 10 - 1797 Chapter 11 - 1605 Chapter 12 - 1561 Chapter 13 - 1690 - milestone 3 reached Chapter 14 - 1842 Chapter 15 - 1762 Epilogue - 233 Total words published: 24545

#ONC2025 #Round2AmbassadorsPick For as long as she can remember, Ivy Reece Tauria has worn an unbreakable ring on her finger. A childhood relic, a forgotten gift...until the day it opens. It happens after she stumbles upon a door made entirely of briars and thorns, hidden deep in the forest where no door should exist. The moment she steps through, something awakens inside her something ancient, something powerful. And then the world shifts. In a land on the brink of chaos, an ancient evil resurfaces. The Dark Sorcerer, Malagar, long thought vanquished, has unleashed an army of metal warriors to conquer the world. With the realm in peril, retired heroes of the past are forced out of hiding to fight once more. A stray cat isn't just a cat. A unicorn's horn is more than a relic. And a forgotten oath is about to be tested. But the biggest mystery? The tiny creature that emerges from her ring, claiming to have been waiting for her all along. Ivy is about to learn that some secrets are meant to stay buried because once they're uncovered, there's no turning back. Main Prompt: #1 Sub Prompts: #2, #7, #12, #13, #39, #75

* ONC 2020 AMBASSADOR'S PICK * * ONC 2020 HONORABLE MENTION * * ONC 2020 SHORT LIST * * HIDDEN GEMS * Sean has a problem: his dreams come to life. It causes him enough trouble that he moves across the country to start fresh at Everwood Institute. But as his repetitive dreams become more vivid, he wonders if anything he sees is real, and if the black leaves Finn trails behind him are truly there... Finn tries to keep his dreams under control, but this year, he keeps dreaming the same dream. It haunts him in the day, and doesn't help when he's trying to keep his past problems separate from his present life. Then there's the matter of Sean, who leaves flowers blooming wherever he steps... As Sean and Finn grow closer, they realize there's more to their dreams - and each other - than they know. ~*~ COMPLETED | #lgbtq+ #mlm #contemporaryfantasy "How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state?" - Plato Prompt #15, OpenNovellaContest2020 Word Count: 21,198 words

It was a rite of passage for many of the young people in town. Spend the night in the abandoned hospital and return with trophies. Many people had taken the challenge and won. Many more had failed. Rachel accepts the challenge along with her three best friends, staying the night and taking trophies. Only after they leave do they come to realise their mistake. A mistake they may pay for with more than their lives. Someone never left Tumblefields Hospital. Until now. An ONC, Open Novella Contest, participant. Based upon Prompt: 32 - "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allen Poe. Placed in the Horror category. ** ONC**: Shortlister, Round Two Winner (Tied, 5th place), Round One Ambassador Pick.**,**Wattpad Chronicle Monthly Spotlight (May 2021)** #OpenNovellaContest #OpenNovellaContest2021 🥇 1st Place, Horror Category, in the Aeryn Awards (2nd Dec 2021)🥇 🥈 2nd Place, Horror Category, in the Time Turner Awards (30th Dec 2021)🥈 🥉 3rd Place in Horror, Big Dipper Awards (May 26th, 2021).🥉 Cover by @LynaForge

[COMPLETE] ONC2024 Longlister❤️ Using Prompt number 14 "My love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." Alexandra Vasiliu" A guy and a girl have been best friends since childhood, but their destiny parted them. The little girl had to move away with her parents. Years later, they meet again, but the bond of friendship still remains the same. But the young lad has realised that his affection has developed into love, but, he's scared to express his feelings. However, he also feels that the girl has changed a lot. She cares more about money and herself than before. His love remains unwavering and he proposes to her, but she rejects him. He decides to wait for her, letting her take her sweet time. In the meantime, he's always there, supporting her, and scolding her for her bad deeds. He's continually showing her the path of truth, but she's not looking back. He also learns about her past, which has changed her personality. He wants to change things for her, only if she is ready. Slowly, with time, things happen and she realises that she's been trapped in her own net. She realises her mistakes and her best friend forgives her, as they walk through the aisle, starting a new life.

From the Fantastical Fiction prompt-- "Family Heirloom" #OpenNovellaContest2019 (Under Fantastical Fiction) Harrah used to peek in the hallway towards her father's secret room. Her mom, her grandpa, and uncles are allowed to enter the secret room, even Albert... but there are two men in the black suite standing in the middle of the hallway and stopping her from passing and coming close in that room. After she turns 18, she began having those weird dreams. Like someone is calling out on her, asking her for help. Until that day and her destiny entrusted. Now she doesn't know what's the truth in reality. So many questions flooded inside her head when the red dragon swallowed the sword, and the dragon entered her heart forcefully. When she opens her eyes the following day, her dad reveals the world where he came from. It seems that the other Dragon Sword with the bluestone is the only connection to this world and the other world across the universe... whom her dad lost ownership 15 years ago because the Twin Dragon Sword chooses a new owner who will sit the throne and will rule all the Kings in the land. Firstborn is who will sit on the throne and rule the world. "Now that no one sits on the throne, the 5 Guardians will be asleep forever... the dark force outside the Great Continent will earn a strength to walk our land freely, do you wanna do this?" She remembered Lionel asks her. "I cannot abandon my people, dad." She answered. "So this is the world where my father came from," she smiled. She's standing on top of a hill to get a better view. She's waiting for a free ride to go to the Great Temple and awake the 5 Guardians. ---@--- [Watch out for the twists and adventures. Spoiler inside :)] (Art credited to WLOP)