Opennovellacontest Stories

Complete! Raizia has already died twice and she's not planning on dying again anytime soon. The 20-year-old necromancer makes ends meet by offering her resurrection services to a select few for an exorbitant fee. There's just one condition: she will only resurrect souls who have died within the past three days, and only for five minutes so they can share final goodbyes with their loved ones. But then she meets Aris, an attractive soldier reeling from the recent death of his mother. Raizia agrees to resurrect her, but when Aris ignores her cardinal rule, all hell breaks loose. As punishment for his deed, Raizia binds the soldier into her service. But Aris isn't going to come quietly... Fantasy ~ Romance ~ Adventure ~ Novella - - - Written for the 2021 Open Novella Contest, based on prompt #66: When you die, you come back. But you never come back the same. There's always a price to pay for resurrection... Open Novella Contest 2021 Round One Ambassador Pick and Short Lister Completed! Image by Rav89 on Deviantart.

Peaky Blinders meets Bonnie and Clyde. **** Eighteen-year-old Kit Jones has spent his life on the wrong side of the law. Having grown up poor in London's seedy East End, Kit has fought tooth and nail just to survive. Emily Masters cannot say the same. Born to rich parents, she's been handed everything she could ever dream of on a silver plate, but she longs for adventure. When Emily and Kit's lives collide, they find they have more in common than they first thought. Hiding from the police is one thing, but when Emily's parents come looking for her, the two must do whatever they can to avoid being caught. They quickly realise that a life on the run is no life at all, but they may have gone too far to get out. Based on Prompt 14: "My Love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." - Alexandra Vasiliu.

[ONC 2025 Shortlister] An apprentice silversmith, haunted by his reflection. A wealthy family, falling to ruin. A patron spirit, searching for a pact. Five games will decide their fate. After acquiring great wealth from a boom in silver trade, the Blackwood family moves into a mansion that was mysteriously abandoned by its previous owners. The property has everything a family of established silversmiths could need: prime trade location, a smithing workshop, and a large mirror that was left behind. To Kyren Blackwood, the promises of a new life and the riches that come with it are more than enough to overshadow the eerie tale. But the mirror watches. Reflections are not what they seem. Driven to the brink of insanity, Kyren must uncover the mirror's secrets before his family loses everything. In a desperate attempt to free himself, he agrees to play five games with the spectre in the mirror. If he can win three, the curse will end. Lose, and he surrenders his soul to the silver spirit. ~An ONC novella, inspired by prompts 13 and 55. ~Set in the same world as Buried in the Sea but can be read completely independently (with no spoilers to one or the other).

Cyril defied the Gods by his very existence. In a world where the Gods' will shaped the fate of every man and woman, he had no destiny. Such defiance could not be allowed. Per the Gods' will, the Moirai weaved a tapestry of destiny and death. A snip of a thread ended a life and a drop of dye subdued a mind. When Ophelia discovered a defect in the fabric, the Gods sent her to investigate, and then to end this threat to the Gods' perfect order. She was not prepared for what she found. With faith shaken, Cyril and Ophelia sought the truth of Gods and men. But so often, truth was a dangerous thing. A fantasy/sci-fi novella. **** 2022 Imaginaria Realm Category winner - Best Worldbuilding **** **** 2021 Open Novella Contest Short List and Honorable Mention - Stunning Worlds **** **** Featured on Wattpad Retold **** **** Featured on Wattpad Myth and Legend ****

"There's no denying it-either I'm hallucinating or Cole Winton is standing on my porch." Jamie is used to putting pen to paper. She's been doing it for years, and has a slew of novels to show for it. For the most part, she's left alone to write which is what she prefers. But this is the first time someone has knocked on her door, insisting they are one of her characters. This is the first time someone demands to know how she knows what she does, declaring it treason. Armed with only her pen, her notebook, and her cat, Inkwell, she finds out just how much of their own lives her characters have taken on outside of her novels. (ONC prompt 99) ONC 2025 Finalist (5th place)

The time is up, yet why is she still breathing? · There can only be one witch or warlock every hundred years - crumbling to ashes once they've reached their time. It's been two weeks since Verona Frost turned 100 years old, and she's still alive. . Began: 16/02/22

"When saving an endangered species means life and death, sometimes you just need to sit down and have a cup of tea." Out of work and broke, liana accepts a placement on a Xeran ship as a trainee. How hard can it be? The Pay? Well let's just say, no more bargain beans on toast for dinner, ever again. What she doesn't know she's unwittingly signed a contract without reading the small print. And the whole ship is one giant sentient plant with a bad temper. Things are not what they seem, the ship is strangely empty, no one knows what's going on and what's that strange smell from the observation deck? To make things worse, a Pumpkin has stolen her chocolate.

Stories say that the Witch rained curses down on Devil's Corner, that she made the woods grow strange and wild, made shadows leap and dance and snatch up stray children for supper. In a small town on the edge of a dangerous forest, stories are never in short supply, and they are held dearer than truth. Thea lost her hand to the things that live in the wood, and she can't shake loose the voice that lured her there. But her Pa fed her tales of magic and heroes, and promises that even the darkest things have hearts. When her brother is attacked by the Witch's gruesome creations, Thea breaks into her cottage, determined to save him from a fate she knows all to well. Because in Devil's Corner, stories are true, and Thea knows the greatest one of all: the only way to break a curse, is to kill the witch. --- COMPLETE - 20,000 words Written for Wattpad's 2024 Open Novella Contest. ONC 2024 SHORTLISTER 2025 AMBY AWARDS ROUND 3 QUALIFIER

A contemporary Scandinavian adaption of the legend of Jack Frost/Jokul Frosti. *** A first kiss changes everything. When Joakim kisses his childhood friend Anton it puts their relationship and also the weather in turmoil. Snow starts to whirl over Stockholm, turning the capital into a chaotic state. Is Joakim's emotional state actually affecting the weather and can his inner turmoil be stilled once he reunites with Anton, who mysteriously has disappeared after their intimate encounter? An ONC novella using prompt #69: "I had a marvellous time ruining everything."

(HONORABLE MENTION) Rik Sandro is a dimension traveller. Jumping from one version of the world to another was intriguing at first, until he discovered he can never go home. Now all these new beginnings are just a pain. Maybe it's time to stay in one place. Maybe it's time to settle down. Maybe it's time to fall in love. However, when his latest lover is murdered, Rik fears that he's being stalked and now, he might not have any control over how, where, or when, his life will end. (HONORABLE MENTION and ROUND TWO WINNER ONC2021 ) A clockpunk adventure, my entry for the ONC 2021. (Clockpunk / LGBTQ / Romance / Horror)

Round One Ambassador Pick. Emily Hollyford fell in love with Oscar Trentham, Earl of Riverstoke, when she was just thirteen years old. All she wanted in life was to marry her prince charming in front of the most important people in her life-her parents. Oscar, on the other hand, only saw an annoying child who pestered him day and night while he was trying to enjoy his visits with his cousin Henry. Due to a series of devastating events, their paths don't cross again till many years later and Oscar can't help wondering what happened to the outgoing and vibrant Emily? Overshadowed by her cousin Cecily and treated horribly by her mother's brother and his wife, Emily is a shell of her former self. But with Oscar back in her life, can she overcome the hurts of her past and find herself again? And more importantly, can she still get her happily ever after? Prompt 33 They had their arrow aimed at their target's back, a perfect shot despite the crowded ballroom. Taking a deep, steading breath, they pulled the bowstring taught and prepared to let the arrow fly. But then their target turned and looked directly at them, finding them in the eaves as if they'd known they were there all along. The target winked.

🏆ONC 2025 HONORABLE MENTION 🏆 A lone lighthouse keeper watches over the coast, tending to her light as the sea rages beyond. The storms are nothing new-neither is the solitude. She is content with the quiet rhythm of her life, the crash of waves against the cliffs, the scent of salt and parchment filling her days. But when a shipwreck leaves a battered stranger at her doorstep, the tide of her world begins to shift. The man is rough-edged, a relic of salt and shadow, with secrets hidden beneath his scars. He speaks of a past that the waves should have swallowed, of maps inked in the margins of forbidden books, of love letters lost to time. Trapped together by a storm that refuses to pass, they share stories by lantern light-one seeking refuge, the other searching for something long forgotten. Yet not all ghosts are content to stay buried, and not all storms end when the sky clears. Whispers of war linger in the distance, and the truth he carries may threaten the safe harbor she has built for herself. As the past and present begin to intertwine, she must decide-will she cling to the safety of her lighthouse, or will she risk everything to follow the reflection of something new? -- Cover by @Heuristic_Hashmath

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

AN ONC 2020 ENTRY- SHORTLISTED A Wattpad Romance, Stories Undiscovered, General Fiction, Cupid and AmbassadorsUK featured story. Art in the cover by @CutoutsCo on Etsy. ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ "Dear Miss Clara Abbott, I am delighted to inform you that you have been engaged. I wish you the best of luck with your new husband. Yours, Aphrodite." When Clara was just fifteen, she vowed to the sky that she would never fall in love. For ten years, she told herself that she was happy alone; that stubborn streak inside of her never letting her believe otherwise. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for Clara, Aphrodite and her gummy bears saw through her façade, and decided to give her a little nudge to help her make a different sort of vow... "I want to allow myself to feel everything, but there is something in me that feels like it is physically stopping me from doing that." ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ • @newlywrittenbooks featured • @WattOriginals featured • ONC Shortlisted • Second Place- Psychological Novel Reads Contest 2020 • Honourable Mention - Romance Reads Contest 2021 • Second Place - The Creative Awards (Fifth Edition) • Third Place - The Gen Z Awards 2020 • Honourable Mention - The Ace Awards Supreme • Fifth Place - The Belle Amè Awards 2020 Highest ranking: #8 / 195K in Story [20/7/20] #2 / 69. 4K in Book [5/7/20] #751 / 2M in Love [24/6/20] #1 / 11.1K in Letter [20/7/20] #5 / 3K Novella [22/6/20] #1 / 626 in Opennovellacontest [26/5/20] ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ [Yours, Aphrodite, written by TinyAsianEmpress. © All rights reserved] This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the permission of the author.]

To make ends meet now that her husband has died in combat, Patrice accepts the only job going in the small town-backbreaking work picking fruit for the local farmer. When the farmer asks Patrice to move the cows into the lower field, she thinks nothing of it until one cow decides to go on an adventure through the wrong gate. After moving the cow, Patrice notices a glowing gem in the long grass. Patrice decides that it has to be returned to its owner and assumes that the shadowy figure in the distance is that person. Transfixed by the stone and its magical powers, Patrice chases after the mysterious figure, forgetting about the world behind her. The true owner is Jarek, a merciless elf king who has little time for the games that the crystal is playing. Jarek's plans for returning to his world after the battle to save the humans in their global war are thrown into disarray when he realises that the stone will not return to him. Jarek has no choice but to do everything within his power to get it back. Without the crystal, he will die. One small stone will cause chaos for Jarek and Patrice when it binds itself to her and refuses its rightful owner. Determined to get his crystal back, Jarek takes Patrice to his world. He knows that the clerics will have an answer. Neither Jarek nor Patrice will be pleased with what they offer. With time running out, they must do what is necessary to save a king with no heir. © This story is copyrighted. No part may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of T.M. Watkins (xMishx) 2021

After failed businesswoman Toria Bergwald discovers her husband has been cheating, she branches out on her own to rebuild her life with her best friend Emily. At a networking event Toria meets Neil Frost, an accountant who can help her get back on track. Though she feels a spark, it's one she must ignore. At least for now... ___ Written for the ONC contest 2022. Status: complete Cover created using CANVA PRO on February 24, 2022.

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."

[EDITING] ONC2024 Longlister❤️ Using Prompt number 14 "My love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." Alexandra Vasiliu" A guy and a girl have been best friends since childhood, but their destiny parted them. The little girl had to move away with her parents. Years later, they meet again, but the bond of friendship still remains the same. But the young lad has realised that his affection has developed into love, but, he's scared to express his feelings. However, he also feels that the girl has changed a lot. She cares more about money and herself than before. His love remains unwavering and he proposes to her, but she rejects him. He decides to wait for her, letting her take her sweet time. In the meantime, he's always there, supporting her, and scolding her for her bad deeds. He's continually showing her the path of truth, but she's not looking back. He also learns about her past, which has changed her personality. He wants to change things for her, only if she is ready. Slowly, with time, things happen and she realises that she's been trapped in her own net. She realises her mistakes and her best friend forgives her, as they walk through the aisle, starting a new life.

Supervillain Ranvi De Witt is somehow not in prison yet, but her superhero nemesis is. When he asks her to consult on a murder-case that could free him, at first, she's thinking only of the money (well, at first, she laughs in his face, but after that, she's thinking only of the money). But when her dim-witted minion (and actual best friend) is brainwashed to act like a fairytale princess, she realises this murderer is targeting her as well as her nemesis. He's got a lot of power, even if he's literally butchering the fairytales he's forcing his victims to recreate. And he's supposed to be dead. 'Surrounded by Idiots' is a comic fantasy novella about morally grey areas and the power of stories: how some of them can cage you, while others can set you free. ONC prompts: 50. A supervillain has a midlife crisis and decides to become a superhero. But redemption might be harder than they imagined. 59. I am the pages of the past and the ink of the future. I course through the veins of many, though few truly notice me. I am what they search for in others, yet I cannot be bought. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end. Tell me your story, and perhaps I'll grant you the love others have failed to find.

For two months, the Avondorian Mountains have been a safe haven. Now, that's about to change. When a scout returns to Anahill with a disturbing message, Audren, the freshly-inaugurated Lord of the Mountains, finds himself faced with a challenge: The Cursed will reach the city within days. Undead, highly dangerous and hungry for human flesh, the Cursed are creatures not to be messed with. Audren refuses to let them slaughter his people and turn them into monsters. He sees only one way to save his home: Breaking the curse that started this terror. Teaming up with a grumpy student mage, Audren ventures into hostile territory. But can this curse even be broken?