Opennovellacontest2024 Stories

[ONC2024] Everyone can read minds except for Ethan Langdon. And Ethan Langdon has the dumbest (and cutest!) thoughts Lukas Hoffmann has ever heard. ____ Part one complete. Part two updating every Friday until completion (but already fully complete on my Kofi!) ____ Lukas Hoffman's life in Brambleburg is about as boring as you'd expect for a town where everyone can read minds. He's used to his routine of dusting the LPs at the record store where he works and helping out his grandma around the house. Nothing in Brambleburg changes. No one in Brambleburg changes. Until Ethan Langdon stumbles in with the soggy remnants of a paper map, asking for the quickest route to Berlin. Ethan, it turns out, doesn't have telepathy, and as aggravatingly inane as his thoughts are, Lukas hasn't felt the excitement of meeting a stranger since.... well, ever. And the more Lukas listens, the more he starts enjoying Ethan's cute thoughts about life, the universe, and Lukas's dimples. ____ Might bring to mind: "Cherry Magic" but set in a fictive European town where everyone except the love interest can read minds. ____ Written for the Open Novella Contest 2024 using prompts 8, 75, 82, and 85. 8. You start singing along to a movie soundtrack late at night forgetting that your window is open. Someone from the outside starts singing with you. 75. You awake in the middle of the night to a voice saying loudly "May the force be with you..." 82. You wake up on a seemingly ordinary day to discover that your thoughts are not private. There is someone else in your head with you. 85. "If you do that again, I'll throw you out that freaking window. What are you doing?" "Checking how high the drop is to see if it's worth it."

🏆 HONORABLE MENTION - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A witch has to pretend to be the wife of the Prince of the Dead in exchange for resurrecting her lover. ⋯⋯⋯ Mavyn of Krauss has everything under control until her rich and influential fiancé keels over and abandons her. Now with no place in society as a witch, she moves to the next best option―summon an immortal from the Land of the Dead and strike a deal to resurrect him. Enter Valen Nox, a prince of the Underworld, bringing along an irresistible deal to the table. She will have a chance to comb through the Underworld's domains for her fiancé in exchange for being Valen's date for his sister's wedding. But when the truth comes out with the promise of a conspiracy, Mavyn is thrust into the wicked world of the Kathari, the Underworld's immortal rulers, and their schemes for dominion. Now, she must play by their rules while crafting deadly plans of her own―plans that may endanger more than what Valen bargained for. After all, the most logical thing to do in a court deep in chaos is to use it to one's advantage. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 comes a tale of the deadly and the wicked, set in a world where life and death are not so simple, and there may be more to lose at the edge of the void than at the end of memory. AN INSTALLMENT OF THE WICKED DEATH SELECTIONS. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [22,000 - 27,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] 🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 R1 AMBASSADOR PICK - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

What do you do when a teenage movie star makes it seem as if you've kidnapped him? After working two summers at his father's health club as a towel boy, Peter Fisk saved enough money to visit California. He literally runs into Lance Hardwood in his hotel lobby - and Lance just wants to have fun, incognito. Pete gets caught up in a mad escape from Disney reps, paparazzi and a trio of Lance's superfans; and finds that maybe, just maybe - Lance has kidnapped his heart.

🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 A young journalist must navigate a war-torn country and the intricacy of first love in order to save herself and her family. ⋯⋯⋯ In 2042, invaders crossed Philippine waters and marked the start of the war. Two years later, Maian Dizon, a displaced Metro Manila journalist, navigates the war-torn streets in search of a way out of the country. However, when her path crosses with Kian Lucero, a reservist medical doctor, doubts creep in. With the guilt he carries, the foreboding loss on her shoulders, and the pressing needs of her family, her calling points her back to her homeland with no promise of salvation. But the attacks crawl closer every day, and Maian must devise a plan to save the people she loves, even if it means sacrificing herself. From the award-winning author of 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘥 comes a story of love and life, and how they fade and thrive at the face of war. There is an end to peace, memory, and glory, but there are things that will live forever. We only have to find them. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2024 (First Edition) [30,000 - 35,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] C/TW: Some scenes in this story contain graphic physical violence, disturbing themes, or character introspection that may upset or trigger the reader. Please read at your own risk. 🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2024

LONGLISTED : When Agent Seven Three is sent on his first mission to the past, to sort out a problem with the timeline, he expects to be in and out in a couple of days. Identify what is causing the unplanned divergences and stop it. Simple, right? But when he encounters reporter Jack Brown, he finds the situation is far more complex than he was led to believe. And only when he meets someone he's not supposed to fall in love with, does he begin to really test his limits. SCIFI / TimeTravel / LGBT / Romance

Round two ambassador pick. Wyatt has just won it big and, in a drunken haze, buys an old, neglected mansion. When she moves in to start renovations, she gets an eerie feeling that she's not always alone-and let's not forget the noises. One fitful night, she heads to the kitchen for a midnight snack and is shocked when a random stranger runs past her in the hallway. A handsome man dressed like Mr Darcy, who disappears like a ghost. After her encounter, Wyatt does some research into the old house, only to discover it has a creepy and troubling past. But that's nothing compared to the revelation that the old antique wardrobe in her room is a secret doorway to the past and the handsome stranger is no ghost, but the son of an Earl looking for his long-lost aunt.

2024 Leighyeann A. Mies All rights reserved An entry for the Open Novella Contest 2024 Book #4 of the Face saga - spin-off [COMPLETED ON 30/4/2024] *** Sometimes, words speak louder than actions. But, in other cases, it may be the other way round. It's been forty-seven years since Sim Daejung arrived in New York from Seoul, South Korea, stirring trouble wherever he passed by, whether with a simple gesture or a whole rant on his existential questions. He passed his daredevil personality and creepy curiosity to his sons and daughter, who see him not only as a role model, but also as the force driving them to their goals. That is, if they can pass the tests life poses for them.

#ONC2024 Round 2 Ambassadors Pick | Shortlister (Finalist) When Prince Oskar decides to disguise himself and goes out into the village to see what the people are like, he is met with a shocking sight. There are orphaned children in the streets, beggars at every corner, and people fighting for their next meal. The kingdom of Unara has never seen poverty and the royal family looks out for the people. Why is this village struggling? As Oskar returns every day, he befriends one of the village's deformed members. A young woman with multiple scars on her face. Taking pity on her, the prince gives her one of the rings on his fingers, intending for it to bring her a better life. However, the woman is soon arrested for being in possession of this ring and Oskar knows she is innocent. Until he discovers she possesses a ring with the Unaran royal crest. This is not the ring he gave her. (The Royals of Unara) Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2024 | @OpenNovellaContest - Rules & Guidelines: https://www.wattpad.com/story/359598678 ©2024 E. S. Elias All Rights Reserved. Created & Published to Wattpad 02.01.2024 Completed: 04.27.2024 Main Prompt #55; "You're a young royal in disguise who befriends a villager with a scarred face. One day they are arrested for stealing something you gave to them." Secondary Prompt #67; "A promise is a promise. A secret is a secret. They must not tell anybody." Cover: Me @DesignsbyEH Image was generated using Dream.AI by Wombo solely for the purpose of making my book look pretty. Cover is temporary and subject to many changes. Word Count: 24,689 / 20,000 Round 1 ✔ | 2,000 words ✔ Round 2 ✔ | 8,000 words ✔ | Ambassadors Pick ✔ Round 3 ✔ | 20,000 words ✔ LONGLIST ✔ | SHORTLIST ✔ Rankings; #opennovellacontest #31 on 02.20.2024 | #ONC2024 #opennovellacontest2024 #15 on 02.20.2024

Alego enjoyed the night time stories her parents told her. They helped her get through the night especially when her mother wasn't around.

"#97. It is your first day at your first job, and you discover the library you'll be working in is very haunted." Constance Penrose has worked before. Not for a job, but the make-work of the workhouses of Victorian England, for those they couldn't sell to the factories. That and the money made off her labor wasn't her's to keep. This was not the place an Earl's granddaughter was supposed to end up in. Reconciliation with her family landed her back in the lap of luxury, where the inevitability of her world was marrying a cousin, much like Queen Victoria, a stranger without the wealth to back a season, or a job the family wouldn't balk at. Cousins marrying in the Victorian era wasn't too uncommon, but Constance was pushed into the workhouse by Aunt Letitia's machinations once, and marrying into the family she wanted to hurt promised to be a life of misery, whether it be the polished heir Victor, the indecently wild Walter, or the rebellious child James. If only her love for them was stronger than her hate of their mother, she could give in. Instead, Constance persuades her parents to let her find work or gain an education, anything but the fate of a Tragedy. Mother's mysterious past helps introduce her to Lord Listings, and Constance is offered a job at Listings Women's Library, if she can handle the oddities that surround the Women's Library. And haunted is just the start of it.

Confined to the family's estate since birth, three sisters have never seen the outside world. Taught they are unable to leave home due to their long hair, Lexi, Lulu, and Fia secretly envy their volatile father and narcissistic mother whose short locks allow them to come and go whenever they wish. Raised believing their grandparents live in the TV set, the young women's knowledge about the outside world is skewed. On the eve of Fia's eighteenth birthday, life as they know it is altered when the girls find a young man unconscious in their yard. Believing he is an angel, they hide him in the guest house. Soon Fia's feelings for the man bloom and she finds herself sneaking to the guest house to be with him. When the lies the sisters have been told begin to unravel, Fia decides she will do whatever it takes to escape. The only thing holding her back is her long dark hair. Dogtooth x Rapunzel x The Castle of Purity Warning for abuse, swearing, romantic themes, alcohol addiction, blood, and typical Christine darkness. There is no SA. Best rank: #1 IN OPENNOVELLACONTEST2024 I started writing this story for the ONC 2024. Due to work and life, I could not finish it for the contest. Which made me sad...but I continued...at a snail's pace. Thanks to everyone who kept reading!

84. A witchy tale from the perspective of the familiar. 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. ~~~ Eclipse is a raven familiar, an invasive Corvus splendens in small-town coastal Louisiana. He serves an outsider called Mamman Simbi, a witch hidden between a Catholic and Voodoo culture, when a new witch is born into Cajun bloodlines (Tammy Broussard, b. 1977). Being overburdened in soul leads to the new witch having dangerous fevers that Eclipse and Simbi protect her from until she's old enough to take over as Mung Bean's witch (Simbi's rescue cat the same age as the girl). Familiars take on that excess spirit and help manage their partners health and daily work, becoming as human as their masters. The process of protecting Tammy leaves her frightened of Mamman Simbi, and parents in denial don't push children to stray outside their culture. But the world has never been safe for their kind, and just as the deep south starts to recover from a painful recession, the witches hiding in their culture start disappearing, leaving Simbi too distracted to reach out to a fearful child. Then Simbi disappears from a gathering during the worst years for murders in New Orleans (1994), with police corruption running rampant. Mung Bean and Tammy, both now 16, run away from home soon after, leaving Eclipse to sort out how much is safe to tell the young witch's parents, Rafe and Dinah Broussard, and Simbi's boyfriend, T-Beau LeBlanc. Can Eclipse find his master, ride herd on two teens (a witch and her familiar), keep mere humans safe, and not lose himself to the humanity he's avoided as a crow? Life wasn't supposed to be so complicated for a bird brain.

The 20s are back and the Prohibition is in full effect. Only this time the only spirits that are being outlawed isn't alcohol - it's powerful potions, endangered magical creatures and living souls being confined into bottles. These illicit spirits are coveted by criminal organizations that want to take over the underworld. One dangerous concoction could decimate an entire city to oblivion. Some of these spirits can be used to power engines, regenerate the tissue of a cadaver or make someone glow like a firefly, but the most dangerous of them all is to use the vessel of an imprisoned spirit to use mind control. Aster Rhodes was just a homeless lad who travelled across the states playing an old violin in the park when he got discovered by Daisy Ray. The young violinist has a penchant for bad poetry and soliloquys though it didn't deter the widow from introducing Aster to the frontman of the once-nomadic band called the Daisy Dukes - Darrell "Zib" Zibulon aka the Dandy Lion. After passing the rehearsal, the real head honcho of the speakeasy, Blaise Ray shows Aster the ropes of the business operates, though he didn't know the real extent of what his job would entail after the owner of the Dandelion speakeasy gets murdered one night. The business starts to sink and the only way to keep it afloat is to procure the illicits spirits, no one else is willing to take the risk to go bootlegging except for Aster, and Blaise's goddaughter - Ivy Taylor.

[ONC Longlist 2024 | A Medusa Retelling.] Sydney 2112. Young men are disappearing without a trace. On the other side of town, an up-and-coming sculptor's works eerily resemble the missing men. Can the Inspector solve the riddle before her son joins the collection? *** Keya Sapkota needs to create artworks for her first sculpture exhibition at the prestigious Museum of Contemporary Arts, but a recent date-gone-wrong has left her a mess. She has no memory of what happened, but a feeling that something horrible transpired that left her with broken lips and bruised body. Keya hides in her loft, chipping away at her marble columns on autopilot. The more she chisels the more lifelike her statues become, ones she can't remember carving, but does she care? She needs exhibits for her show and the strange figures may as well be her pieces. The new Stone2Stone sculpture exhibition at the MCA catches the eye of Inspector Reina, who is desperately searching for her son who disappeared from a nightclub on his twenty-first birthday. Reina can't put her finger on it, but the sculptor, Keya, seems strange. Then there's the eerie marble statues that share their likeness with young men who have recently disappeared. Inspector Reina is determined to find answers before her son's sculpture turns up in the artist's collection. --- ONC Prompts: 60. "Look what you made me do." -Tayler Swift 3. Your greatest fear is monsters in the dark. The last thing you expect is to become the Monster in the dark. 95. "I will become as monstrous as I must." Features: - @Fantasy - Urban Fantasy (Oct 2025) - @paranormal - Investigations & Academies (Sept 2024) - @action - Thriller (Aug 2024) - @APIFantasy - API Fantasy & Science-Fiction Entries (March, 2024) Trigger warning: Slight depictions of SA. Please read at your own discretion. [Strictly no copy, translation or adapting of this story in part or whole is permitted without the author's permission.]

#47 A seemingly normal day ends with the disappearance of every adult on the planet, and it's up to the most unlikely of heroes to bring them back. #52 "And that is how that world was lost and a new one, our world, was born." #80 "Meet me next life." ~ The battles with demons were so commonplace, and their world shrank so much that everyday prayer changed. No "Give us this day our daily bread," but more "Can there be bread, tomorrow?" The former Commander 1st Class of the Holy Knights and Laypriest of Arden, Valentine Auger, fought these monsters that spilled into their realm for 2 decades. In his last battle, the Rapture began, taking any native creature bigger than a beetle from the face of his world--except for him. For another 2 decades, he evaded the demons he once fought, until even they were gone. He was facing his 60s when he discovered there might be a way to restore the world he once knew. It was a long shot, but it would be better than the years spent with two silent ghost dogs, seeing his memories collapse under rot and ruin, until the day he'd walk into his grave, left alone by the Goddess Arden. Little did he know that this task was riddled with the mistakes of the other times he chose this path, making the entirety of his existence an exercise in a living hell.

Published as at 29th Jan 2025 . 24th February 2025, marks the date, where the sun had vanished, plunging us into an abyss of darkness, the immediate concern wasn't how we would survive. Survival was not the answer; modification was. It was the day, we became Oxy, altered humans integrated with parasitic plants designed to produce oxygen in a realm deprived of sunlight. This transformation marked the loss of that world, birthing a new one - our world - sustained by the symbiosis between modified humanity and parasitic flora. . Open Novella Contest (ONC) No. 52 "And that is how that world was lost and a new one, our world, was born."

ONC Entry based on Prompt #90: You were officially dead for 2 minutes. Ever since then you can see guardian angels, and not a minute goes by in your daily life that you don't see an annoyed angel doing their job.

A woman cursed with immortality navigates a post-apocalyptic world in order to hunt down the god that cursed her...and kill him. (full blurb inside) Written for ONC 2024 | Prompt 63. In a world of curses and gifts, you find yourself cursed with immortality - in the apocalypse. | First Draft

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all those who travel to Paris must have a good time. But Dominic isn't having a blast. That is, until his annoyingly attractive roommate Luc ropes him into a daring scheme: visit the city's most famous cemetery at midnight. Illegally. Père-Lachaise is a true necropolis: old, huge and filled with mystery. When the boundaries between life and death begin to blur, Dominic and Luc find themselves in a necropolis unlike the one they expected see. A Paris of the Other Side, a real City of the Dead simply begging to be explored. A city that isn't without its own dangers. This is a ghost tour to never forget. ~ONC Round One Winner~ ~ONC shortlister~ ~Featured on Freethelgbt~ ~Featured on Humor~

Mortal races rise and fall at the whim of the gods, immortal beings transcending the bindings of the mundane. They have not been seen in the last century, not since the Great Fall, when mortal races bound together to fight their tyrant rule at the battlefield called Desolation. Their hand has been felt through the eons, however, shaping the world to their pleasure with wars, plagues and cataclysms. Especially among the humans. The mad goddess Endra, personification of a power that struck the other gods with fear, was struck down from the heavens, bound to the earth. Centuries passed, and by chance encounter she was freed again. Vengeance would be hers. Jayne cannot remember much of anything, her memory stripped from her, leaving only troublesome, chaotic dreams with no meaning. All she remembers with certainty is that she has been running from the powerful men who hunt her across the mortal realm, hiding from the mad deity haunting her every step. But she has run long enough. She will face whatever comes at her, be it the gods or monsters from the underworld. Or the truths of her past that begin to resurface. For in the end, only she can determine if she will triumph... or fall. Cover created by myself using Dream.AI Written for the 2024 OpenNovellaContest. (Core prompt) Prompt 18: With powers they said were a shame, a goddess is tamed into submission and fears her own destiny. Prompt 3: Your greatest fear is monsters in the dark. The last thing you expect is to become the Monster in the dark. Prompt 51: A band discovers that their songs has the power to control minds, and they are determined to discover how this power works... and how to use it. Prompt 94: I will become as monstrous as I must. © Kevin Cross 2024 If you find this book anywhere other than wattpad, then it is a pirated copy. Please leave this site immediately and if possible, report this to the author. Visit @moonlight-blade on wattpad to get the original version of this book.