Onc Stories

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!

SHORTLISTED! Jareth Coppersmith and Pol Flynt have one thing in common. They kill for a living. One works for GAME, the powerful Guild of Airship Mechanics and Engineers and the other, for the Royal Spymaster. But what happens when they are unknowingly sent on the same secret mission? At best they are rivals, at worst, mortal enemies. SciFi / Thriller/ Steampunk/ LGBT

"Seriously!" Jisung scoffed as he locked eyes with Chan, who was unfazed as ever. "You are not sending me across the country just to steal a necklace!" --- At the far end of the country, where the air was cold, two men stood facing each other. "You sure are cocky..." Hyunjin dragged, his eyes fixed firmly on the older man in front of him, who only gave him a cold look. "Can't help it. Genes." Minho turned around before jumping from the five-story building to a nearby three-story one, making Hyunjin sigh, his breath visible in the cold air. "Yah! At least wait for me-" He paused. "Bitch." --- "Do you believe in love at first sight?" Jisung dragged his fingertips along the numbers etched on Minho's neck, making his breath hitch very slightly. "No." A story where two ominous people are sent against each other to steal the Luciacsa Sigmorica Necklace, worn by the great Queen of Segmantia, also known as the underground mafia jury. But what if those nemeses find out they were already paired by fate... as soulmates... But- Something isn't right. #MINSUNG #ONC-26

When her office burns down an editor must work together with the most infuriating man alive or risk the promotion she's been working her entire career for. **** Chielozonam 'Elo' Williams is doing great. All things considered. It doesn't matter that the job she loves as editor at PerfectRomance, the publishing imprint she's been working at for the past five years has started to feel more like a chore these days. It doesn't matter that her judgemental father might be right about her wasting her life away by not using her full potential. What really matters is getting her dream promotion and enjoying the prime years of her youth. That is until the unthinkable happens. After Elo's office building burns down overnight she's forced to share an office with the one person that makes her blood boil: Connor Price. Archenemies since their days at college Connor makes getting under her skin an art form. He's brash and rude and irritates her like nobody else can with his scathing looks and contemptible behavior. It's not long before they're locked in a battle of wits, neither willing to back down or give up. When they have to work together to acquire a potentially lucrative manuscript, they are forced to put aside their long-standing animosity for an adventure that will blur the line between hate and desire until neither of them can tell where the fighting ends and the falling begins. PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION meets ANYONE BUT YOU meets THE HATING GAME in this contemporary rom-com about resilience, self-discovery and two sworn enemies who can't tell the difference between wanting to kiss or kill each other. An ONC 2026 story inspired by prompt 40. THIS NOVEL IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD AND INKITT. IF YOU ARE READING THIS ANYWHERE ELSE, PLEASE INFORM THE AUTHOR VIA WATTPAD, AS YOU MAY BE READING FROM A MIRROR SITE WHERE IT HAS BEEN PLAGIARIZED AND YOUR DEVICE MAY BE SUBJECTED TO A MALWARE ATTACK.

*ONC2024 Shortlister* This is for the Wattpad 2024 open novella contest, I picked prompt 21." A dragon, an elf, and a dwarf embark on a quest to find the lost heir to the kingdom." ***** Morte, the heir to the kingdom, vanishes inexplicably in a peaceful world. Tobi, a devoted friend, finds out about the king's failing health and Morte's abduction. The impending coronation of Morte's younger brother, Sol, heightens the necessity of finding Morte. Tobi decides to look into Morte's disappearance with the help of his newfound buddies. As political tensions increase and word of the missing heir spreads, the kingdom is in disarray. Before Sol is about to be crowned, the party embarks on a mission to locate Morte. But is Morte the heir the kingdom is waiting for? * This book is written EXCLUSIVE TO WATTPAD. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the author's prior written permission, Angela Olah.

When a cautious Formula One engineer crosses paths with a damaged comeback driver, she discovers that the most dangerous variable she should assess in the sport isn't speed-but attachment. ✦✦✦ Adriana Santos has always known her place on a championship-winning Formula One team is contingent. Excellence, she learned early, is not the same as security. She works in a role the paddock barely understands-simulating failures before they happen, answering 'what ifs' before they become 'what went wrong', and treating the car like a living thing whose future rests in her hands. Her work is quiet, precise, and easily erased the moment she becomes inconvenient. She is careful because she has to be. She knows Joshua Thomas long before she meets him: the driver who changed his name to fit in, the anomaly on a rival team forever tipped for titles. To Adriana, he's a reaction curve that never quite returned to baseline after last season's crash. His comeback is framed as resilience. Many are simply waiting to see him fail. They meet by accident, in a moment stripped of his usual extravagance and pretence. Adriana notices what she always notices-the face behind the mask, the way he laughs through failure like it doesn't frighten him. Adriana doesn't forget him, though. She keeps her distance but Joshua doesn't, and their reluctant friendship begins to bend into something riskier. And they both know exactly what it could cost them. ✦✦✦ ✦ Open Novella Contest 2026 | Prompts 24, 29, 30, 44 ᴄᴏᴘʏʀɪɢʜᴛ © 2026 ʙʏ ᴀᴜᴅʀᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ.

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]

After a horrible accident that kills their parents, two young brothers Jesse and David are separated. 10 Years later, they find each other and start to reconnect. But with a traumatic past weighing on them and another accident threatening to separate them for good, it is up to the brothers to fight against the odds and their own demons for a chance to stay together. Written for the ONC 2025 contest prompts 'A single night can change everything. Even someone you thought you knew- like your closest friend' and '20 days of freedom'.

After the State orders troubled teenager Jo Spencer into Deep Sleep, an experimental rehabilitation program that promises to erase destructive behavior, she awakens one year later with fractured memories and a growing sense that something is terribly wrong. As she struggles to piece together her past, impossible recollections begin surfacing: gruesome events no one else remembers, missing pieces of her identity, and whispers that patients who enter Deep Sleep don't always come back the same. On the day of her rebirthday, every recovered memory deepens her suspicion that the treatment changed far more than her behavior. But the most terrifying question isn't what happened while she was asleep. It's whether she ever truly woke up at all. ***** 🏆 Round 2 Winner - Open Novella Contest 2020 🏆 Longlisted - ONC 2020 🏆 Shortlisted - ONC 2020 ***** ONC 2020 Prompt 15

Six years since the cruel and untimely death of their mother, Raina Marshall finds herself riddled with worries that are of no concern to normal eleven year old girls. The most important of which surround her younger brother, Rami, who seems to prefer his imaginary Kingdom to real life. The summer feels like those previous. As they spend their days at Grammy's, Raina struggles to come to terms with her father's absence, especially considering she would no longer be able to protect Rami come September. But with unexplained disappearances, mystical books and an outdated prophecy, strange beasts come to life, pulling the Marshall children into a whirlwind of an adventure - quite literally!

As a spare heir and hero of the last war, Wystan would like nothing more than to enjoy retirement while teaching recruits and drinking up his inheritance. After stepping on the wrong toes, he is reinstated early and finds himself on a quest to slay a dragon in the Southern Lands of the Empire. Unwanted and feared, the merry band of the Empire's mercenaries joins him on the journey, for they have been ordered to die with him in not so many words. While the rumors consist of a tale of a feral, man-eating dragon, a captured princess, and a dreary, impenetrable fortress of a tower where both dwell, Wystan learns that stories are just that: stories. The tower is not impenetrable nor dreary. On the contrary, it's quite homey with warm rugs, shiny chandeliers, and the fire roaring in every heart. The dragon ignores humans like a person would an ant. And the princess... Is in fact a prince. The runaway prince of the Zmaya Kingdom enjoys making Wystan's days harder. Smooth-tongued and shrewd, Alexei offers their party a place to stay after hearing about their grim fate. Uncovered coincidences and secrets imply a connection between him and the dragon. If Wystan returns home empty-handed, the Emperor would hang him. But it's not just his life at stake, the mercenaries become comrades in arms. Wystan is forced to entertain Alexei's whims while unraveling the truth behind the man's meddling, the dragon's presence, and the Empire's betrayal.

Articles & Blogs, Contests & Deadlines, Events & Features, ... ... Challenges, Interviews, Picks, Awards, Updates, Prompts & Many More.

For Centuries Grim has been collecting souls. It's what he does, it's his purpose. One day, while collecting a soul in the park, he comes across a lost puppy. For reasons he can't explain, the urge to return the small dog to his owner is overwhelming. He soon finds the animal's owner, a woman in her mid-twenties named Maria. He is struck down by her beauty and realizes that he had once claimed the soul of someone she loved. He becomes even more conflicted when he realizes he has just one year to claim her soul.

Morgana Pendragon had turned her back on her family and friends due to her thirst for the throne of Camelot, which she believed was hers due to her being Uther's, albeit out-of-wedlock, daughter. She captures Merlin in order to use him against Arthur or kill him ..... but something stops her from doing so. She leaves him in the woods for Arthur and his men to find. Merlin, whilst healing and resting up, confides his confusion to Gaius. He is haunted by the memories of the time he spent in her hovel and Giaus tells him of the Teine Diaga, or "Sacred Fire". Merlin then remembers Morgause took Morgana away after he resorted to poisoning Morgana to save Camelot; Morgana had been under Morgause's control the whole time. Devastated as he realises how quick he was to judge her and wanting nothing more than to help her, Merlin seeks Morgana out, determined to rid her of Morgause's evil magic forever. No matter what it takes. The question is, can he reach out to the part of her that is still good or has Morgause's magic strengthened its grip to the extent Morgana is beyond saving? This story is the written work of the amazing YouTube story created by Redhopeproductions. Her story is a work of genius and I could not resist putting it up. This is her story, not mine. I am only the scribe!!! To see it, type into YouTube, Merlin & Morgana / We can find another way (AU PART 1)

When you think of vampires, you probably think of Dracula or--shudder--Edward Cullens. You know what I mean: the romanticized, sexy version of a vampire. The one with sparkly skin and a charismatic compulsion. Hot. Sexy. Let's be real here, Gary Oldman really set the bar, right? But what fiction doesn't tell you is that being a vampire is messy and, quite frankly, HARD. It's ugly and lonely, and don't even get me started about tracking down blood. I'm wanted in every province (ever hear of the Bloody Killer? Yeah, that's me. Totally lame serial killer moniker, by the way, RCMP). I didn't have the choice to turn into a vampire, but, boy, did my creator pick the wrong person. Out of control, clumsy, drunk, messy, blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. I know, I should probably see a therapist, huh? Well, my trail of bloodless bodies soon catches up to me when a chance encounter with a hottie in a cafe leaves me with his phone by mistake, and I realize just how f***ed I am. And as I do my best to keep him away (while trying to survive as a vampire), I can't help but fall for the cafe hottie, putting a stake on my life. *** ONC '26 prompts: #56 and #81

#SHORTLISTED 2023 When Ixis became the second in command to the Throneholder of Opalis she expected rules, patrols and structure for her Fire Trait to shine. Not being caught in the middle of a looming war and a botched assassination she should've succeeded at. In an attempt to drown her sorrows and flee from the looming expectations of helping to lead a war against the demons that threaten their world, Ixis is injured through mysterious circumstances. Forced to return home, the last thing she expects to find is the assassin she couldn't kill pleading for her help. ........ Rider wasn't much of an assassin. Burdened by her past, her curse, and the trauma of what the Throneholder of Opalis did to her, she fully expected the reunion with her old flame to go exactly the way she planned. But when Rider has no choice but to flee her quest for answers, the last person she expected to help her was Ixis: Lady Aria's new Regent. Once they were allies. Now they are enemies. But despite their differing loyalties, they are forced to learn a little more about the circumstances and choices that slowly change everything they thought they knew about each other. Especially when Ixis' Fire Trait begins to heal and for the first time in years, Rider's curse decides to let her. When their begrudging respect unravels into more than just a friendship, they both must choose whether duty or revenge is more important than the love that grows between them. But the demons wait for no one.

Nineteen-year-old Lily Rhodes thought she knew all there was to know about Jacob Turner. The son of a Lord, he's always been known for his rakish ways and outlandish behaviour that makes him the topic of gossip amongst the servants. When Jacob suddenly returns home from London, Lily quickly realises that the stories she's been told couldn't be further from the truth. When Margaret Bolton, a potential match for Jacob, arrives at the house for a visit, Lily finds herself entangled in an affair far more complex than it seems. Based on Prompt 28: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Felicette, a charming and curious black cat, serves as a familiar to a young and kind-hearted witch named Lilith. Together, they embark on countless adventures that have never been too much for them to handle. But when something magical goes awry, Felicette is forced to make a difficult decision - one that will test her love and her loyalty, as well as her magical abilities. Through diary entries inside her magical grimoire, the familiar takes us on an emotional journey as she tries to save the one she loves most. 2024 Open Novella Contest Submission

In Halloway City, love isn't forever-it's licensed. AI companions are programmed for affection, rented out, and erased when their contracts expire. No attachments. No regrets. No memories. Dex Raines makes a living enforcing that rule. A washed-up PI with a failing business and a drinking habit, he takes under-the-table jobs for The Recall Bureau, tracking down lovebots that refuse to forget. Find them. Wipe them. Move on. Until his latest case. Her name is Sora, a high-end LX-9 companion bot flagged for deletion. Standard job. No complications. Until she looks at him and calls him by a name he hasn't heard in years. That's impossible. She shouldn't know him. She's never met him before. Bots aren't supposed to remember. Bots aren't supposed to lie. And bots sure as hell aren't supposed to know secrets about his past that he buried a long time ago. Now, Dex is a wanted man, tangled in a conspiracy that stretches from the slums of Halloway to the boardrooms of Hyperion Systems, the megacorp that controls the city's AI industry. Someone wants Sora erased for good. And if Dex doesn't start running, he's next. But the deeper he digs, the more he realizes: this isn't just about one bot. Because if lovebots can remember-what else has been wiped? ONC 2025 Entry

Rafa's life is about to change when she begins to have visions of a world where she could run away and finally be happy. On the way to the roses, she will encounter difficulties that she is willing to face to reach this invisible world. But at what cost? Will she leave everything behind for a dream?