Opennovellacontest2025 Stories

K-pop idol Minjae and eccentric home chef Hana meet at a cooking competition, sparking a simmering rivalry that turns into a recipe for romance - and potential disaster for Minjae's career. ___ As the golden voice of the K-pop group Starlight, Minjae has the world at his feet - adoring fans, sold-out concerts, and a life most people only dream of. Behind the glamour, he craves something more: a chance to be himself. To show off his passion for cooking. But the pressure to conform to his family's wishes and continue as an idol means pushing that aside. When the chance to show his passion literally smacks him in the face, Minjae, under an alias, finds himself in uncharted territory, swapping the familiar stage lights for the stovetops of a local culinary competition. When quirky, fiercely talented Hana turns a friendly rivalry into an unexpected connection, Minjae finds himself drawn to her passion and ability to be true to herself; qualities he has long lost. Worse, as the heat of the competition ramps up, Minjae's schedule becomes difficult to keep up with, and he must decide whether his love for cooking is enough to risk shattering his status as an idol. Can Minjae handle this newfound connection while juggling both the cooking competition and his duties as an idol, or will he fall under the pressure of it all? ____ Prompts: 31 and 36 ONLY AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD Cover by TaeTaeGinger

🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 A misfit actress must give a performance of a lifetime before her true identity gets uncovered and her hidden empire crumbles down. ⋯⋯⋯ Alyson Gardner, the misfit daughter of the Ocalira chief, is a master of disguise. It is not easy controlling the largest pleasure district in Hylsa Lyllan behind a curtain, so when a student from university goes missing in her turf, she must do everything she can to clear her ties to it even if it means shedding her masks bit by bit. But with an impatient perpetrator out for her ruin, she must turn to friends and foes alike to star in the greatest performance of her life, one that will shake her empire's foundations down to the last brick. From the author of the award-winning novella, 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, comes a story of privilege, wealth, and the divide between the elite and the common. Ideals are a salvation for many, but in the quest for freedom and power, sometimes, they are the first to go. AN INSTALLMENT OF THE LYLLAN UNIVERSITY OF MAGIC AND MISFITS SERIES ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2025 (First Edition) [25,000 - 30,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• 🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 2 AMBASSADOR PICK - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025

28. On a beach vacation, you dive into the water, but it turns purple and suddenly you're pulled under the sand. What's waiting for you beneath the surface? 34. Your new job requires an out of town overnight orientation, but when you check in, you run into someone from your past that you never thought you'd see again. Casey (Cas) Galanis doesn't know whether to say she is a burn victim, or was, as it had been over a decade. While her body bore the evidence of her past, she was more than ready to leave every bit of the trauma from recovery and society behind her. Unfortunately, anyone back home that was still cruel about her looks wasn't going to change. They didn't want to see her as capable of caring for herself. The lowest point was her sister refusing to have her in her wedding photos, citing aesthetics. The out she found was in the hospitality industry, specifically an older, privately owned hotel. True, people would continue to be cruel to her. Even if they brought up her looks, they would be more concerned that their room was clean, the TV worked, the pool was warm, and they made it in time for the complimentary breakfast. And most of that, as a maid, wouldn't be her problem. That, and it came with a room that they couldn't be rented out. Which was odd for a hotel a short walk from the beach. The first hurdle would be the Tuesday night orientation. The second would be if she could learn to love the beach and all it's exposure. But there would be more surprises in store-the doctor who helped heal her and the dead Egyptian god who consumed any free time she had. Because of the possibilities in two men, life wasn't lonely anymore. Cover Art: Photo by Austin J. Best from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-smoking-1205388/ Other elements are Wikicommons, mods are mine.

🏆ONC 2025 || Round One Round Winner Cary Leong sees ghosts. Ever since his parents were brutally murdered by one, he's lived in the space between reality and the other world, mingling with humans and the supernatural alike in a desperate attempt to track down their killer. But there's only so much one boy can do---until Jackson Grey shows up on his doorstep. Jackson is desperate. His girlfriend, Sophia, is being haunted, and he needs Cary's assistance. Seizing the opportunity, Cary proposes a deal: he'll help Jackson...if Jackson helps him find his parents' murderer. Accompanied by Sophia and Sophia's overprotective, hot-tempered brother, Edmund, Cary and Jackson must tread the border between worlds in order to kill the ghosts of their pasts and presents---or die trying. Dead men tell no tales, but the other world has a lot to say.

Selena wakes up in what feels like a dream-falling in love at first sight with a charming stranger at the bar. But the fantasy shatters when she starts her new job and finds out he's not just Adam, the man who stole her breath, but also her new boss. And worse-her target. As a special agent with no memory of her past, Selena, known only as Zulu of the Codes, has one mission: infiltrate Rockwood Industries and eliminate its young CEO if necessary. But with forbidden emotions clouding her judgment and the ghosts of her past closing in, she faces an impossible choice. One thing, however, has never changed-Code Zulu never fails. *** Entered into the ONC (Open Novella Contest) 2025 under the Prompt 27 *You're a spy assigned to infiltrate a mafia billionaire's life, but there's one big problem: you still suffer from amnesia from your last mission. How will you manage to complete your mission without blowing your cover?

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. When Rowan returns to his uncle's estate, he expects nothing more than a tense reunion-until his silver ring, a childhood gift, starts whispering. Inside is Aria, his long-lost friend who vanished the same day he received the ring. Trapped by an ancient enchantment, she has been hidden from the world-and from Rowan-all these years. Now, as the magic sealing her away unravels, dangerous forces begin to take notice. To free Aria, Rowan must uncover the truth behind her imprisonment and the secrets his uncle has kept buried. A cozy, whimsical mystery with a touch of enchantment. Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2025 | ✔ @OpenNovellaContest - Rules & Guidelines: https://www.wattpad.com/story/387452246 **Prompts** 105: Your childhood imaginary friend, who disappeared years ago, suddenly returns--only this time, they're real. 75: You've worn a mysterious ring since childhood, but one day it opens to reveal a tiny creature telling you it's been trapped inside all along and more secrets are on the way. ©2025 E. S. Elias All Rights Reserved. Book Created & Published to Wattpad: 02.01.2025 Book Marked as Completed: 00.00.2025 Cover: Me @DesignsbyEH I used Canva.com | Cover is temporary and subject to several changes. Word Count: 3,714 / 20,000 Goals: Round 1 ✔ | 2,000 words ✔ Round 2 _ | 8,000 words _ Round 3 _ | 20,000 words _ LONGLIST _ | SHORTLIST _ Honorable Mention _ | Round Winner? _ | Ambassadors' Pick? _ Rankings:

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'.

Ayumi Mikuro has always been captivated by mysteries, and the strange black stray cat that roams her neighbourhood is her latest obsession. When she begins to suspect that the cat is more than it seems, her curiosity leads her into a hidden world of shapeshifters, dark secrets, and ancient artifacts. As she uncovers the truth about the mysterious feline and its connection to a secretive group of supernatural hunters, Ayumi finds herself entangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. With the fate of both the cat and her own life hanging in the balance, Ayumi must decide how far she's willing to go to protect the one creature she's grown to care for - a creature who holds the key to an unimaginable power. ONC prompt: 7. You've always suspected that the stray cat in your area is more than it seems. Now you're determined to catch it shape-shifting and prove it's a shapeshifter. But the closer you get, the more questions arise.

THE DISSONANCE OF FORMS - That every alchemical change creates a resonance between what has been and what is to be. And in that space between, anything is possible. Vael has spent her life fighting for a place among the elite alchemists of the Society. Branded a thief and a criminal, it was a losing battle-until she stumbles upon a rare magical ingredient and brews a potion unlike anything the world had seen. But then the side effects start. Strange symptoms are spreading across the city. Someone is selling dangerous counterfeits of her potion. And if the Society of Magic traces it back to her, Vael can kiss her dreams-and possibly her freedom-goodbye. To fix things, Vael is stuck working with the one person more explosive than the potions she brews: a disgraced, trigger-happy sorcerer with a penchant for chaos. Their mission? Find the shady merchant behind the counterfeits before the Society finds them. But magic is unpredictable, and Vael needs to learn to master it if she's got any chance of fixing this mess. And as the web tightens around her, Vael realizes something far more dangerous is unfolding-something that could shatter the very fabric of magic itself.

Ava and Josh are company rivals, competing with each other relentlessly ever since Ava joined the company. But what started as healthy competition evolved into a relationship where there's nothing but animosity. In a turn of unexpected events, they're forced to work with each other and put their rivalry aside.

[ONC 2025 SHORTLIST] The Endless Brew lazes in the 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏. Its residents dedicate their afterlife to helping ghosts tie up loose ends. But when a cry for help echoes from the town of Wisteria, the tea house is thrown into uncharted territory. This time, their charge isn't a ghost-it's Nina, a living, breathing human with no apparent wishes to fulfill. Stumped and stranded, The Endless Brew's residents must unravel why she's crossed into their spectral world. As they take her under their wing, Nina finds herself drawn to Kai, a brooding, enigmatic ghost with a past as mysterious as his piercing gaze. Their electric connection might defy the boundaries of life and death, but it doesn't change the fact they're from different worlds, and their parting is inevitable. 🌸 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏, 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 🌸 𝐎𝐍𝐂 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭: 15. 𝑨 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓: 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕?

Liam Reynolds' best friend Greg passes away, and he misses him dearly. Or he would if Greg left, but unfortunately, Greg has unfinished business and decides to become Liam's ghostly roommate. Greg believes their incomplete bucket list is the reason he can't move on. Thus, he leads Liam and Liam's neighbor, Valerie, on a journey of self-discovery, fun, and possibly love as Liam sets out to do all the things they wanted to do in life. **** This is my entry for the 2025 Open Novella Contest. I am using prompt #8.

When young Nevae loses her grandma to the hands of the Big Bad Wolf and kills him in self-defense, she doesn't expect the shapeshifter's children to kill the rest of her family as payback. Orphaned and alone, she takes refuge in the house of a witch, becoming the old woman's apprentice and vowing to kill all the shapeshifters. Nevae becomes a powerful witch and starts taking revenge, until there's only one shapeshifter left, the youngest son of the Big Bad Wolf. However, something happens that stops her right when she's about to kill him, and she hesitates. Will she fulfill her vow to extinguish that race, or will she let her heart lead the way for once? And what will she do about the two abandoned kids that show up at her door shortly after, and the wedding party of princess Ella, and the mysterious icy woman that freezes the heart of men when she kisses them? ❄❄❄ Retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and some other fairytales. ❄❄❄ Open Novella Contest 2025 ❄ Prompts: #2, #54 and #126

When the mysterious teashop suddenly appears, one can't help but hear its call and wonder-what's its true purpose? *** Alicia Ward's ordinary life takes a fantastical turn when she encounters Aidan, the elusive boy once believed a figment of her childhood imagination, now real and impossibly intriguing. Following him leads her to The Crooked Kettle, an enchanting teashop hidden from ordinary eyes. But curiosity leads her astray when she steps into a corridor filled with endless doors, each one offering glimpses into magical realms where reality is fluid and the impossible becomes possible. Where each door leads somewhere and nowhere, anywhere but her world. Trapped now in this place where reality bends at whim and magic comes alive, Alicia must navigate this bewildering place and find her way back to The Crooked Kettle's parlour if she ever wants to return home. And with the help of her once-imaginary friend, Aiden, and charmingly chaotic vampire, Harley Hatter-Sinclair, who has an uncanny ability to make her heart race and cheeks turn red, Alicia might be able to do just that. Or not. Will she be forever lost in a world where dreams and magic intertwine with reality? Everything and nothing is possible within the magical worlds of The Crooked Kettle. ______ All graphics were created by myself, with their subsequent credit and rights reserved for Andre Di Rosa (me).

Prompt 75. You've worn a mysterious ring since childhood, but one day it opens to reveal a tiny creature telling you it's been trapped inside all along and more secrets are on the way. Greta Shrub is about to turn fourteen years of age, but growing up in the home of her heartless Aunt, Mrs Vivora Grogan has not been easy. Enduring loneliness and cruelty, at the hands of her Aunt and her three spoilt cousins, Greta Shrub's stark and unfortunate childhood only acts to strengthen her resolve and her natural independence of spirit. These qualities of character prove especially essential when an unexpected and previously unknown visitor arrives at her door. But what does her sinister Uncle Ulric know about Greta's past and future? And what is his interest in the mysterious Garnet Ring that Greta has worn about her neck since childhood? And what is the Garnet Ring's relationship to the magical but mystifying occurrences that have become a feature of Greta's lonely life? Do these curious incidents have any connection to a high-school named Snapdragon's Academy, that Greta has heard whispers about? Could this society be the key to her escape from her ruthless relations who wish to use Greta's new supernatural powers in their unscrupulous schemes?

Elenore was supposed to be dead. Even now, years later, it's as though her body and mind remember this fact. With each passing winter she felt her debt grow heavier, the truth of her existence scorched into her mind. Her life was an exchange. A desperate plea from her mother, bound in blood to a mysterious deity that haunts the windswept moors. She would be born a healthy, living child... Yet at the age of twenty-four she would be swept up into its world as its bride. Her soul forever bound to it. Her heart filled with a treacherous longing. Each night it haunts her dreams and by day her eyes are plagued by visions of a world filled with dead things and a kingdom that crumbles under ground. ............ Iris would do anything for her daughter. Kill for her even, if she had to. She never intended for it-- for him-- to ruin it all. One stupid mistake, one moment of desperation had damned them all. She had only wanted to keep Elenore safe. To keep the last remaining piece of her husband alive within her. The price for this was heavy. Too heavy. And with Elenore's twenty fourth birthday quickly approaching, Iris wonders how far she may need to go to keep her daughter safe. Written for ONC 2025 Prompts: 1. You stumble on a mysterious door made entirely of brambles and thorns. As you step through, you're granted extraordinary powers. But with great power comes great responsibility-- it's now your duty to save the crumbling kingdom. 13. When you challenge a magical being, the rules are simple: you must finish what you started, no matter the cost.

[Open Novella Contest 2025] Round 1 & 2 Qualifier Prompt: 31 By the river, Tara meets Ila and nothing is the same again. But clear skies do not mean they aren't susceptible to storms and that the conflict constantly within her will never fade in lieu of one strong emotion for a person! A story of trauma, conflict and loss and a story that tells that some truths are unbearable to their own integrity! Started: 5th Feb 2025 Completed : Total WC: 8003 words *Unedited version*

In the aftermath of a long and bloody war, the daughter of a king, no longer a princess, Mussumi, has to bend the knee to the man who has defeated her father. With only a small escort to lead her back to her homeland, Mussumi soon realises that the warlord does not intend for her to reach home alive. Only the intervention of a skilled warrior, who identifies herself only as 'Duty', allows Mussumi to escape, but a desperate chase ensues and only 'Duty' can get her to the ship that will carry her to safety. With the enemy sniping at their heels at every turn, Mussumi and Duty have to face dangerous paths and deadly creatures to reach the port. But can Duty be trusted, or is she only another assassin waiting to strike? An ONC novella, based on Prompt 31: "Next time, ask yourself if your integrity can withstand the truth."

Shapeshifting cats, magic tea shop, and a hot neighbor who hates all of the above. ~~~ Tabitha is becoming a cliche of a single woman since she's always surrounded by cats. She volunteers at the shelter, fosters kittens, and has a soft spot for the neighborhood strays, even if it scares off her hot neighbor, who only likes dogs. Curious about a new tuxedo who's been visiting her porch, Tabitha follows her to a mysterious tea shop where her life takes an unexpected turn. The tuxedo is not a cat at all but a teenage witch whose careless magic turns Tabitha into a cat as well. If they don't figure out how to break the curse, they'll both be stuck in feline bodies forever. The problem is, they need the help of a human. Tabitha has helped cats her whole life. Will anyone help her? ~~~ Written for ONC 2025, using prompts 5, 7, and 15.

Prompt 69: Corporations dominate the world, stifling creativity with the force of the sterile police to eliminate any source of unauthorized competition. Alma 751 learned to read and write before the Great Uprising of 2103, when WorldKOR restored order to its territories and began to eliminate literacy after the Lost War and the Punishment. She works as one of the lowest ranks of Common Tech: scribe, purging lost and secret libraries and other book slums of contamination lest the blessed illiterate are defiled. She ensures the materials are destroyed beyond repair. Like all scribes, she is watched to ensure she does not teach the blessed to read and write or learn forbidden teachings by hearsay and become irrevocably contaminated. Alma hides from KOR her activities with the underground group, Libre, which rescues books and other forbidden material for the glorious day when their world will read again. Alma realizes she is closely watched by WorldKOR Tech Police but doesn't know why. WorldKOR does not know her two secrets, kept from everyone, even her husband and family her entire life. Only Alvin, her blind brother taken by WorldKOR to purge Braille readers, knew them, and insisted she keep them secret before he was taken to the Museum of Congress. The purification level is estimated at eighty-seven percent when WorldKOR announces Project Cleanse, a ten-year plan designed to replace scribes and other low-level readers and writers with communication bots within ten years. Project Cleanse starts on 1/1/18, formerly January 1, 2121. Alma knows its time to leave WorldKOR North America, if she can escape her watchers and find freedom in Brazil.