Historias de Opennovellacontest

Whether you're a seasoned storyteller or a first-time writer, our ONC Writing Tips are here to guide you on your journey. Prepare for the ONC with expert advice and inspiration - your legendary story starts here!

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!

My ONC Journal 2026.

Vítej u druhého ročníku literární soutěže Slovotvůrci! V každém z nás určitě Slovotvůrce dřímá, stejně jako velké příběhy, které chtějí vylétnout z našich myslí do fantazií čtenářů - tak je pojďme probudit! Poděl se o ně s námi a staň se Mistrem Slovotvůrcem! Vyhraj zajímavé ceny a dej o sobě vědět komunitě čtenářů a spisovatelů!

|Round 2 Winner| |Round 3 Ambassador Pick| |Shortlist| Rhiannon "Banjo" Hart is a professional thief working her last ever job. The Hawk has promised a massive payout if she can steal data from Concorda International and Banjo needs the money to help her Mum get hospital treatment, but she is not sure The Hawk will stick to the adage of "honour amongst thieves". In her escape, she meets an android that adds complication after complication to her already complex life. Banjo needs to outrun the authorities, Concorda's security and The Hawk.

When a grandmother is declared the Chosen One, she abandons her rocking chair to challenge the Dark Lord who plots to destroy the world. -- Formerly a single mother, now a devoted grandma, Granny Thayer has never left her hometown before, let alone slayed a demon. But she'd better learn fast; she's just been selected as the Chosen One, the only hero who can defeat the nefarious Dark Lord of Devnia and avert a zombie apocalypse. Accompanied by a devastatingly handsome prince, a failed bard, and a werewolf with a dangerous secret, Granny Thayer embarks on a quest full of intrigue and love triangles to save her grandson. This is a collaboration for ONC 2022/2023, written by SophieKestrel and Spelunkadunk. Prompt: "It's always what/who you least expected that blows your mind away."

The empire of Aquila has taken over half of the isle of Prydain, and the young siren Veriel finds himself born in the pool of the conqueror's newly-constructed villa. After the other sirens die, leaving him alone and voiceless, Veri's sole comfort comes from the dream of a human girl who sings to him. Then one day, Veriel surfaces to see that his dream, the sunshine of his heart, is real, standing within his reach. And she's engaged to another. But he's tired living as a prisoner, and he can't let this rare bit of warmth escape without fighting for it. Veriel may not have a voice or song, but that won't stop him from trying to win her heart.

[TOP 4 in the Open Novella Contest 2018] "In blood born, in blood it ends." Do you believe in the freedom of choice or in proclaimed destiny? He had terrorized the lands. He had murdered and killed. He had walked the earth for centuries. Now he is back to fulfill his part of the legend. The legend of he who died once and lived twice. The legend of he who will only be stopped by one person: The last remaining member of the Amawaka lineage. A young girl tossed like a leaf in the winds of fate. A fantastic, action filled story about fate, heritage and twisted love, inspired by classical and Victorian literature. #4 in the #opennovellacontest

Whether it's your first time or your seventh 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 wrote a winning novella and look forward to writing every year. 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

Ever since Death got trapped in the mortal realm three years ago, nonstop famines, wars, and plagues have ravaged Earth. Shiori, a budding scientist with a love of snakes and a loathing for small talk, doesn't really care. She can deal with the constant pandemics, bombs, and spider/iguana/fruit fly/crocodile plagues, so long as it doesn't involve socializing with strangers -- the thing she hates most in the world. Too bad her new roommate is hot, suave, and super chatty. Even worse, he seems to have decided Shiori is the only one with the power to send Death back to the underworld -- and he'll stop at nothing to make it happen! **First place in The Punk Rock Awards 2022, Paranormal*** **Grand Winner of The Punk Rock Awards 2022**

Lucia Jennings never believed in reincarnation; until she choked on spicy noodles and woke up as Lin Xi, the tragic heiress from the drama "Whispers of the Heiress". The problem? She hated the show and never finished it. Armed with her corporate experience and an unhealthy number of short drama binge sessions, Lin Xi refuses to follow the script. Everything is going perfectly-until the supposed "real heiress," Bai Lian, waltzes in with a paternity test, claiming Lin Xi's life as her own. Lin Xi worked too hard to let some imposter take everything away. If Bai Lian wants a fight, then she just walked into the wrong drama. ~ Brace yourselves; it's a fast ride. ~~~~~~~ This short story is based on Prompt #48 of the ONC 2025. 48: A fake paternity test threatens to tear apart the family you've built, as an imposter seeks to claim your rightful place as heir. ~~~~ Cover by maskedinthelight (myself)

Every time she lights a match, she escapes into a new world. *** Alicia Robertson is a high school student who is constantly treated like an outcast. Bullied at school and neglected by her parents, her only solace is in her matchbox. One lit matchstick and she is transported to a world of her choosing. Things start to change when the mysterious new boy starts to take interest in her. It's all fun and games until she opens a dimension that was meant to stay shut... FOREVER!!! ********** Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are purely the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ********** This book is entered into the Open Novella Contest (ONC) 2020 Under the Fantasy and Science Fiction Prompt #26 ********** Other relevant prompts are: Fantasy and Science Fiction Prompt #24 Horror and Paranormal Prompt #49 Mystery/Thriller and Action Prompt #54 ********** Release will span through February to April

Elliot's little sister, Grace, is transformed into a unicorn while they are hiking. Transported to a mysterious realm, Elliot must find a way back home, and a way to transform Grace back again.

If only for those blissful three days...he gets to escape everything that's breaking him to pieces, and indulge in the one thing that's keeping him whole. When a man loves a woman...he goes the extra mile. And when love's like this...it will go the distance.

Earth's attack on the planet Zucar and the Zucarians who lived there sparked a flame of revenge in the daughter of its leaders. When the Earthlings stole her brother, the crown prince, it only added fuel to the fire. Now, fourteen years later, there are three thousand Zucarians left alive, living in fear that the Earthlings will return to finish what they started. The weak treaty between the two planets is barely enough to keep them from attacking again. With the sudden sickness of her parents, Zara is finally granted the ability to lead a search for her brother on the planet Earth. Once she takes her brother back, there will be nothing left to stop her from executing her revenge. - - - - - #opennovellacontest2021 Prompt 1: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" - from The Dark Knight.

ONC 2022 PROMPT - 88. (slightly altered) Last night was your first night on the uni campus. You went to the pub and ended up having a steamy kiss and a bit of a fight with a hottie. When your new roommate moved in today, though you discovered your roommate is someone so special to the hot bad boy you kissed that night. gay/bi/trans/asexual/aroace/bicuriouse/

Getting married was not an item on Eddie's to do list until Myra put it on there. Now it's there, with thousands of sub items to take care of; all neat little boxes waiting to get crossed off. There is only one problem: Eddie doesn't know he already ticked off the 'get married' box years ago. Excerpt: Wedding proposals can be big and romantic, very small and intimate, or anything in between. You could take your beloved up for a ride in a hot air balloon, hiding the ring in the picnic basket. You could get down on one knee on a stage, watched by thousands of people who cheered for you. You could take them to your favourite spot in the park and declare your love right then and there. Or just propose after dinner in your own home, finding a quiet moment to tell them you want to be with them forever. Eddie guessed it depended on the couple: everyone did it in a way that suited them. You could say the way it went down for him, fitted them as a couple.

When a fellow witch is accused of a heinous crime, Rowburta Copperbottom. A witch of minimal magical ability but a thirst for knowledge, must investigate the allegations and then prove at a trial the innocence of her colleague. But, with mysterious enemies trying to thwart her at every turn, Rowburta must rely on far more than her witchly magics to aid her in a race against time to prove that justice isn't just blind, but not averse to a little monetary tipping of the scales, either. Rowburta has more than magic to help, she has the lore. A tale in the Terry Pratchett inspired Godworld, where people are about to meet the world's first Witch Loreyer. An ONC novella, based on Prompt 14: "Not everyone in your coven becomes a witch doctor. But you? You are the witch lawyer and take care of the mystical laws of the magical world."

WE WERE LIARS meets SALTBURN. The Seymour girls are beautiful and blessed: skin like porcelain, hair kissed by fire's breath and privilege without recompense. They were named fir their parents' mothers. Juliette for their mother's and Josephine for their father's. I am the last Seymour girl. But I am a bullet shell. A complete outrage of a human being. My entire existence reads like a Shakespearean insult -- clod of wayward marl. You could say lust is what got me in this mess in the first place. The thrill of wanting something off-limits. And then I burned everything to the ground. If I'm being honest, you shouldn't read any of this. I'm serious. Don't. ➤ Open Novella Contest 2024: Prompts #95 and #60

[COMPLETED] Elliot wants to win the war. An unresolved conflict from the past led Angels and Demons to be at each other's throats. With each time he brings down his sword, it's as if time keeps stretching forward. Every demon he kills doesn't seem to be the last and every dream he wakes up from seems to be more vivid than the last. As soon as he kills the last demon, he's brought back a month before everything begins. The cycle begins again. Only this time, Elliot knows what will happen. And as usual, someone else is trying to stop it. Word count: 4/30/2022: 39100 Started: 2/27/2022 Ended: 4/30/2022 ______________________________________ {3X Featured} » StoriesUndiscovered: Into the Abyss » FantasyPH: High Fantasy » FantasyPH: Spotlight Stories [ENG] Cover by: @Hamloveham Collab by: @aliyahthebooks and @AmHjonk_ #ONC2022