Novellas & New Roast: Tips from an ONC Winner - -ˋˏ 𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑬 ˎˊ- - Wattpad

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Novellas & New Roast: Tips from an ONC Winner

Reads 9,582
Votes 1,067
Parts 36
Time 1h 12m

Reads 9,582
Votes 1,067
Parts 36
Time 1h 12m

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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 ChaikaAll Rights Reserved

advice guidebook help howtowrite nonfiction novella onc onc2021 onc2022 onc2023 onc2024 onc2025 opennovellacontest random tipsandtricks writingadvice writingcontest writinghelp writingprompts writingtips

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36 parts

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Down Under by AmyMarieZ

|WATTYS 2022 WINNER - HORROR| Shawn, a convicted criminal, never thought she'd see the sun again, let alone call another star system her home. When she's offered an out from her prison sentence, she embarks on a dangerous interstellar expedition along with 18 of Earth's most intelligent criminals. Their task is to set up a base on a supposedly habitable planet and prepare it for colonization. Although the planet has liquid water and a breathable atmosphere, it is believed to host only microbial life. However, upon arriving, Shawn and the rest of the colonists learn that assumption was grossly incorrect. In a brutal attack from rampaging wildlife, everyone but Shawn and four other colonists are killed. The five survivors retreat to the cavernous network beneath the ground seeking safety, but they soon come to a terrible discovery. These caves aren't ordinary caves, and they are no safer down under than they were on the surface. [][][] This was originally my entry for the 2021 Open Novella Contest, and it received an honorable mention! It has now been expanded into a full length novel. I used prompt number 53: "When wildlife starts rampaging, all the humans are forced underground. However, they come to a terrible discovery that being underground is no safer than being on the surface."

Raven's Heir | ONC 2021 honourable mention by jinnis

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

a Deafening Silence's Writer Room by XDeafening_SilenceX

Want to know how to develop your writing career? How I got so many reads so fast? 1 million in 6 weeks! See behind the scenes of my work and process? Want to ask me all the question you can desire? Well you can! Find out my thoughts, feelings and what could have been's! Exclusive look to behind the scenes of me, Heather, aka Deafening Silence! Welcome to my writers room!

Rain Rain Go Away | #ONC2021 by druidrose

|| ONC 2021 HONORABLE MENTION || ONC 2021 ROUND TWO FIRST PLACE WINNER || Three friends. One secret. Thoughts of a summery vacation in the middle of winter sounded fantastic until all plans to enjoy the Caribbean sights were thwarted by an unexpected tropical storm, keeping everyone inside. Normally spare time without current-day distractions would be beneficial to a group of long-time friends always too busy to spend time together otherwise, but this is one trip down memory lane they're going to wish they never took... ---------- Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2021 Mystery & Thriller - Prompt #55 ONC Round One Qualifier - 03.23.2021 ONC Round Two Qualifier - 04.20.2021 ONC Round Two First Place Winner - 04.24.2021 ONC Round Three Qualifier (Longlist) - 05.21.2021 ONC Shortlist - 05.30.2021 ONC Honorable Mention - 06.29.2021 ©2021 M.Dalto Published to Wattpad 02.01.2021 Draft Completed 05.02.2021

Of Love Tales and Rabbit Tails by SilviaKrpatova

After six years in a progressive French boarding school, eighteen-year-old Lady Alice returns to her family's estate in Surrey, dreading the fate that awaits her-- debutante balls, an arranged marriage, and a life she does not want. She would have preferred to stay in France, teaching and writing love tales rather than living one dictated by others. Once cast aside by her own father and a stepmother, Alice finds their sudden desire for reconciliation hollow. Only her childhood best friend, Michael, Marquess Lovelace, seems like a true comfort. But as she settles back into her former home, something strange begins to happen. A black rabbit, eerily familiar, appears in the shadows-- just like the one that belonged to Edmond, her long-forgotten imaginary friend. And then she meets Count D'Arcy, the enigmatic and elusive neighbour whose presence unsettles her. His eyes, his voice, his very being remind her of Edmond. Could it be him? Or is her mind playing tricks on her? As the social season unfolds, Alice finds herself tangled in a web of mystery, romance, and the supernatural. The past and present blur, forcing her to question what is real, what is illusion, and whether love can exist beyond the bounds of reason. In the haunting halls of her childhood home and under the watchful gaze of Count D'Arcy, Alice must uncover the truth before she loses herself to the unknown. ~~~ My entry for the ONC 2025 based on the prompt 105: Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns - only this time, they're real.

Tumblefields [ONC 2021] by JanGoesWriting

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

Wake Up ||ONC 2021|| GxG by skyebmewrites

It hadn't occurred to Esme that she should be suspicious of her parents, they were just ordinary people after all. But when an unknown number won't stop texting her, the questions start coming. Was the accident really the cause of her amnesia? Why did her parents speak five languages suddenly? How was it that Esme could suddenly assemble and disassemble guns? Who exactly was Agent 23? Maybe one of these days she could get back to her sappy daydreams of her incredible coworker. That itself seemed like a dream.

We are Guilty ✔️ by CarelessGhost

From Best Friends to hiding bodies to lovers!! Azazel never expected that Sebastian would go to such a great height of killing people just to get his attention and affection. Azazel already suspected that something was off the charts when Sebastian found it funny to kill the people who had bullied Azazel. "Zel, please don't leave me" Sebastian wore a sweet smile begging Azazel, whose ankle is chained to Sebastian's bed. Where will this mania take both of them? Will Zel be able to help Sebastian bury their secret just like he helped Sebastian in burying the bodies of his victim or will he break down? Book cover by @treizemay An LGBTQ thriller Ranking #26 in Freelgbtq. (21 June 2021) #1 in ONC2021. (2 May 2022) YAAY!! #6 in LGBTQIA. (23 June 2021) //🥈 mystery-thriller genre Lemon contest 2021// //Utopic Awards 2021// //Snowflakes winter Awards// //Open Novella contest 2021. Prompt 58 Mystery/Thriller//

KINK | ONC 2023 ✓ by rskovach

Five ordinary people. One risqué art exhibit. Many, many secrets. * * * This novella contains the stories of five individuals interweaved around a fictitious art exhibit called 'Kink: Attitudes Toward Sex, Then and Now' inspired by two ONC 2023 prompts: can we go back to the start when we were all strangers in the dark (#6) and three women, three secrets, three tangled lives (#15). * * * ONC 2023 Shortlister. This story is marked Mature for adult themes, language, and light erotica. It has been written under a pseudonym, but it is my original work.

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Slide 1 of 9

Down Under cover

Raven's Heir | ONC 2021 honourable mention cover

a Deafening Silence's Writer Room cover

Rain Rain Go Away | #ONC2021 cover

Of Love Tales and Rabbit Tails cover

Tumblefields [ONC 2021] cover

Wake Up ||ONC 2021|| GxG cover

We are Guilty ✔️ cover

KINK | ONC 2023 ✓ cover

Down Under

|WATTYS 2022 WINNER - HORROR| Shawn, a convicted criminal, never thought she'd see the sun again, let alone call another star system her home. When she's offered an out from her prison sentence, she embarks on a dangerous interstellar expedition along with 18 of Earth's most intelligent criminals. Their task is to set up a base on a supposedly habitable planet and prepare it for colonization. Although the planet has liquid water and a breathable atmosphere, it is believed to host only microbial life. However, upon arriving, Shawn and the rest of the colonists learn that assumption was grossly incorrect. In a brutal attack from rampaging wildlife, everyone but Shawn and four other colonists are killed. The five survivors retreat to the cavernous network beneath the ground seeking safety, but they soon come to a terrible discovery. These caves aren't ordinary caves, and they are no safer down under than they were on the surface. [][][] This was originally my entry for the 2021 Open Novella Contest, and it received an honorable mention! It has now been expanded into a full length novel. I used prompt number 53: "When wildlife starts rampaging, all the humans are forced underground. However, they come to a terrible discovery that being underground is no safer than being on the surface."