chaikovskiy
so i did not make it to round three of the 2026 open novella contest, but here is a quick list of pros and cons for that
pros:
- i will be expanding "the bells of ryazan" to qualify and complete in the wattys!
- as a result, you get more "bells" chapters, including this week's, titlted "bargaining," which you can find here: https://www.wattpad.com/1623750239-the-bells-of-ryazan-onc-2026-xiii-bargaining.
cons:
- disqualified from the 2026 onc for being more than 40,000 words
- potential struggle writing/expanding the story to be a novel
- new watty's deadline in july
that's all for now! don't be afraid to let me know how your onc experienced ended up this year. i would love to catch up and chat. and good luck to all the students out there who are entering exam periods and or job searching! we've got this <3
take care + happy reading and writing!
- elle ♡♡
DauntlessShadowIce
I see. I’m trying to do that as well, but I’ve never finished something over 20k before, so I’m really just hoping I’ll hit 40k before submission closes
chaikovskiy
@DauntlessShadowIce, hi! i agree totally, yes. i do not know about other oncers, but i am hoping to be able try to expand "bells" to proper novel length... like 60,000+ words?
DauntlessShadowIce
they did lower the minimum word count to be 40k, so hopefully that works more in the favour of you and other people in your situation