Historias de Opennovellacontest

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!

Do you have an ONC? Wish to get feedback as well as discover other ONCs? Then stop by and join our ONC book club!

Her return was supposed to be simple. Go inside, clear the house then file the rapport. Happy ending, she gets her career back. Except she gets greeted differently. And the longer she stays the harder it becomes to tell whether she is investigating the house or someone is investigating her. Based on prompt 82 "You are in love with someone living and someone long dead. Neither one is willing to let you go."

THE LAST SIGNATURE The ink that doesn't fade. Eli never believed his brother's death was an accident. He just never had proof. Until Nora found the yearbook. Hidden inside a wall. Filled with names written in ink that doesn't age. Names that belong to students who all graduated normally, lived quietly - and died exactly three hundred and sixty-five days later. No headlines. No investigations. Just a pattern so clean it could only be deliberate. Now there are five of them who know. One name already inside that shouldn't be. Eleven weeks until the rest of them walk across that stage. And something ancient, patient, and nameless has been collecting signatures for a very long time. It isn't finished yet.

Lights, camera, action. When an Alien gets curious, too curious, things go... south. Calliope is from the species Llanci, and when her fascination to mankind grows, so does her list of major crimes. Her thirst for knowledge never wavers, quickly snowballing to a dead corpse of a human in her space station. No one can find out the truth. She shifts into the humans appearance, completely replacing the human with herself and taking on its life on Earth. All she has to do is play the part, just like all those humans she sees on those pixel light boxes, and make sure no one finds out. Easy, right?

At eighteen, she begins dreaming about a boy she has never met-yet somehow knows by heart. In her dreams, he feels like her missing half, someone who understands her in ways no one else ever has. She wakes up every morning wondering if he's real... or just a creation of her lonely imagination. Then one day, she spills her coffee on a stranger. Late, stressed, and embarrassed, she expects the moment to ruin her day. Instead, it becomes the beginning of something unexpected. The boy she drenched in coffee is kind, funny, and strangely familiar. Too familiar. As their awkward meeting turns into friendship, and friendship slowly turns into something deeper, she starts noticing unsettling similarities between him and the boy from her dreams. The same smile. The same voice. The same way he looks at her like he's always known her. With every shared laugh and late-night conversation, the line between dreams and reality begins to blur. Was their meeting just an accident? Or was fate slowly guiding them toward each other all along? And when love begins to bloom, she must face the truth- Some souls are destined to meet... long before they ever touch.

When 'reach for the stars' stops being a metaphor. Being a productive member of society was always expected of me-by my family, my friends, and my coworkers. I thought I was doing my part in customer support, helping people every day, until the demands pushed me past my breaking point. So I left. I built a quiet life on my own terms: a cabin by a lake, a thriving garden, bees, and distance from the pressures that nearly destroyed me. Just when I believe I've finally found peace, strange lights circle the stars-and I'm lifted off the path leading back home. I wake in a place that is cold, controlled, and very interested in what I can do. What first looks like a gift-a greenhouse, fertile soil, the chance to grow-quickly becomes something else entirely. I wasn't brought here by accident. I was chosen because I'm useful. As the trials continue and my memories begin to blur, I'm forced to confront the truth of their desperation-and the cost of refusing to cooperate. They need me to save their world. I just want my life back-if I can still remember what that was. Author's note: This novella is my first entry for the Wattpad Open Novella Contest. Thank you for reading and for accompanying me on this experiment. *I am a Canadian author. English spelling follows Canadian usage. ** Note about the cover image and banners: The cover and banners were created with AI assistance in Canva.

It's about an a 23 years old korean man, and an another 23 years old woman

Every ten thousand years, a celestial flower blooms. Though all beings in the nine realms fight to obtain it, only the most powerful one will have the right to pluck it. And even then, the flower may choose another. After two hundred years of quiet cultivation with her master, Yin Wan Ling suddenly finds herself competing for dominance amongst the other immortals. But her only interest in the flower is to help learn the identity of the mysterious figure who plagues her dreams. Every night, she runs toward a man swathed in mist and fog. Every night she yearns for him. But his face remains shrouded. Until one night, she finally sees his face...right before he stabs her in the heart.

OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 ENTRY All that was left of him was one voicemail she couldn't delete. She wanted to keep it, just to remember his voice - but every time she pressed play, something changed. A different word. A car honking. A way-too-long pause between words. There were details that didn't belong. She was not sure if she was revealing the truth about his death... or if the message was leading her somewhere she didn't know she could go.

The sirens scream but we don't move, With nothing left to fear or prove. In the hollow dark of a world undone, Your pulse is the only war I've won. Two young souls finding meaning and life and discovering their relationship admist the burning town and black clouds. Please like my story after reading every chapter. Show your love to my story. Because I've participating for the first time. *This story is written for participation in Open Novella Contest and no earlier draft exist before 1st Feb . The story is based on prompts provided by the event .

Everyone thought she was an angel. Gentle voice. Soft smile. Always hungry - never satisfied. I was the only one who saw the teeth behind her kindness. The way she fed on secrets, admiration, silence. By the time they finally noticed the devil, I had already learned something worse: Nobody believes the victim when the villain looks like an angel. Book for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompt: 112

Spring arrives quietly.... soil rich with fertility, petals swaying and a garden that has never known wonder. Until one flower blooms where none should. When reaches for the first flower of spring, the world does not change all but It opens. A single touch pulls her into a place hidden between seasons a world where gardens guard secrets, portals breathe softly and magic has learned how to wait. What was once ordinary becomes dangerous and what blooms beautifully may burn just as fiercely.... because some flowers are not meant to be touched. Some doors do not open without consequence and some creatures long thought to be myths have been watching all along. In a story where spring is a threshold and the garden remembers everything, one choice will decide what is saved... and what is lost forever.

Have you ever wondered who your soulmate is? In the world of 'Moonlit Dreams, Moonlit Fate', you get to meet them in your dreams, right after you turn twenty years old. However, you do not know what they look like. As Yvonne Blythe keeps dreaming about her soulmate on the nights following her twentieth birthday, she becomes determined to find them. During her relentless search for the person of her dreams, she meets Reid Wells, a senior at her university. The encounters do not stop there - Yvonne and Reid keep running into each other at the most unexpected places. But, these encounters make a realization dawn on Yvonne - Reid was not just a random guy, he felt like the very person who had appeared in her dreams for the first time. Entry for Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompt used: 21

An ancient relic, intertwined fate and lives bound by a 50 BCE mystery. An Indian archaeologist and the reluctant son of a powerful chairman find themselves drawn into a truth buried beneath time as a forgotten kingdom begins to awaken and destinies demand revelation.

Mariella intends to marry rich. Then she'll live as she chooses. But there's a problem. The crown prince isn't as blind as everyone else, especially after he sees her true self. He now notices everything, the little lies, the carefully crafted manners, the rehearsed kindness. He is indifferent, dismissive, and dangerous in ways she can't anticipate, but she needs him on her side, because one slip, one glimpse behind her mask from the court, and everything she has clawed towards will collapse. She has spent her life perfecting the art of being the sweet, proper lady no one suspects. How to appear harmless, timid, and polite. But every word, every gesture, every tear is calculated. Because, in a world of wealth, titles, and ambition, the clever survive and the careless get left behind. And she will not be left behind. ××××× "She is deceiving you, Your Majesty!" Percival insisted, dragging Mariella back to the present, ''I swear upon my honor.'' The throne room felt smaller than before as the silence after Percival's words stretched. The King's gaze softened. "Mariella has served this court with nothing but grace." Mariella sobbed harder. The sound loud in the silent room. Finral's gaze burned into her. He had not spoken or shown any indication of revealing the truth. Maybe he was still in shock from her magnificent performance but she had to be sure. So she slowly lifted her head slightly, meeting his eyes for the briefest moment. Just for a second. And winked. The smallest movement. Gone in an instant. His lips parted. Whether from shock or apathy, she couldn't tell but he still said nothing. And in his silence, the ruling fell swiftly. ××××× Written for the open novella contest 2026 prompt 16: And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul (Quote by John Muir) Interpreted in a romantic sense.

Under the cherry blossoms sits a nimble girl, her face sullen, and her eyes caved in. She was sitting by a gravestone, staring longingly towards where her mother was laid to rest. Guilt, regret and melancholy was all she could feel. Had she known her mother would pass away, she wouldn't have left her in hopes to pursue her dream as a light novel writer. Inspired by her mother's creativity and imagination, she also wanted to walk down the path her mother went. However, her visit to her mother's grave at the first sign of spring soon turned out to be an ordeal when a cherry blossom flower piqued her interest. One touch and she was now in a world where magical creatures walked on land. But, her role as the daughter of the greatest witch follows more troubles and challenges than she had ever anticipated. ------------ An open novella contest entry Main prompt: #2 Other prompts: #11

ONC 2026 Entry

It was supposed to be simple. One mission. One target. Substantial compensation. Instead, two elite assassins from rival organizations show up with the same assignment, the same instincts, and wildly inconvenient chemistry. Ezra and Elaine had everything planned and organized. The guests. Fake, but whatever. The food. Which they did not get to eat. Tragic. One dreamy gown. Ruined by an idiot who also smashed their wedding cake. Oh. And the bullets. Because when you make a living pulling triggers, it is only fair that the past shows up armed. Now the guest list is bleeding, the vows are under fire, and the mission they thought they understood is unraveling into something far bigger than either of them signed up for. Turns out, when your love language is violence, your happily ever after comes fully loaded. ---- [First draft - unedited]

Amaury's debt is to be the Soul Reaper of one hundred souls to the keeper and master of his own. With Nilly, his assistant, he sets off to reap that final soul. But there's a catch. How can a lost puppy end up freeing the Soul Reaper and bringing the puppy's owner true happiness? Lorri's lonely life is about to change with a chance encounter, brought about by her escape artist of a puppy, and someone who isn't entirely human. Entered into the ONC2026 contest based on the following two prompts. #65: On the way to collect a soul, the grim reaper is distracted by a stray puppy. Instead of completing the task, he decides to find the puppy's owner, much to the frustration of his assistant. #52: You're on a first date when you suddenly realize the person sitting across from you isn't entirely human.