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It's finally time to meet this year's ONC Grand Winner - Dante, who is known as Dante_Greywolf on Wattpad. They have amazed the ONC team with their novella The Last Werewolf (Vidar #1).
So, let's talk to Dante to get to know more about their writing and ONC journey!
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Welcome to the interview, Dante!
So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe your fiction?
I'm Dante, 32, and from Antwerp (Belgium). I mostly write epic high fantasy but for this year's ONC, I decided to combine urban fantasy with paranormal and mystery. Though I tried to keep things more light-hearted for my novella, I still added the social commentary my readers know from my fantasy series.
When did you start writing and what does writing mean to you?
I started writing around the age of 14-15 and finished my first novel, a paranormal tragedy, nearly 3 years later. That one will never see the light of day. I took a long break when I went to university then picked up writing again in 2016.
Writing is a hobby for me, and one of many other hobbies. I write because I enjoy it and because it provides escapism from a demanding day job. I have to admit that contests like ONC do give me that extra push to work consistently on a story.
How has your writing journey been so far? What are your goals as a writer?
My main goal is to have fun. Additionally, I also want to share my stories with the world and grow as a writer. Compared to five years ago, my technical writing skills have improved a lot. So has my character work and my plots. Criticism can be a bitter pill to take but it did help to improve and grow as a writer.
For everyone starting or still struggling: know that it's a marathon. Not a sprint.
How did you find out about Wattpad and what do you like the best about the platform?
Someone suggested it to be as a platform to share your own work. The best part is the author-reader conversation. Though controversial outside of Wattpad, I do enjoy reading comments and suggestions. The community aspect is unlike any other writing platform.
Why did you participate in the Open Novella Contest?
For the past 5 years, I've mostly been working on my epic high fantasy series. ONC is a good excuse to write something entirely different and to actually work on some ideas that I never had time for (or rather, made time for).
At the same time, ONC brings out the best in the Wattpad community. It brings writers together who might otherwise have never met on Wattpad.
Which prompt(s) did you choose this year?
Since I always wanted to write a story about the Norse Gods after Ragnarök (their apocalypse), I was immediately drawn to prompt #25, about the immortals retreating/hiding until they get stumbled upon by a farmer's apprentice. To be able to set the story in Antwerp, I changed to prompt to the God being stumbled upon by a bookstore "apprentice".
As a subplot, I used prompt #60 since I wanted to introduce a creature that lives in the sewers beneath the city.
Besides the prompt(s), what else inspired you to write your ONC winning story?
Three reasons: I've always wanted to write about the Norse Gods post-Ragnarök. I've always wanted to incorporate Flemish folklore into a story. And I wanted to bring the legend of the werewolf back to its essence. No alphas, betas, omegas, and lunas in this one.
So instead of writing one story for each of these ideas, I combined them. During Ragnarök, Vidar defeats the wolf Fenrir but is bitten, and thus cursed to live as a werewolf for the rest of eternity. Since Asgard has fallen, Vidar decided to leave and settles in the nice and quiet town of Antwerp. Fast-forward a thousand years, and Vidar is a grumbling bookstore owner by day and a lazy paranormal detective by night (albeit a slightly furry one during a full moon).
How did you experience your ONC journey?
It was a pain, but the fun and rewarding kind of pain. Since my job got very busy and I still have other hobbies (and family), I quickly decided that I would put my main series on hold as of March so I could fully focus on ONC. I also took a week off in April just to write for 5-6 hours every day. Without that week off, I would have never been able to finish in time.
But it wasn't only pain. There were some fun surprises as well. I thought setting the story in my home town would be easy on the worldbuilding. Wrong! I learnt so much about my own city while writing this story. I can recommend it to everyone. Suddenly, you know a whole bunch of fun facts and lesser known places in the city.
And I also joined a book club specially for ONC to get even closer to the community of fellow ONC writers. Shoutout to Dreamland! I still have many novellas on my TBR, and I'm slowly but steadily working my way through the mountain of amazing stories. It seems like it was an even stronger edition this year than the previous ones!
Give us your ONC winning speech!
What a journey! When I started writing my novella, I would have never expected to become the Grand Winner.
Thanks to everyone reading my novella. Though I rarely respond to comments, I do enjoy reading all the comments. A big thanks to friends and family for the support and patience. An extra special shout-out to the Soapies (you know who you are). And last but not least, I want to thank the ONC team for all the hard work they did (once again) to organise, manage, and judge this year's edition. ONC doesn't exist without you!
See you all again next year!
Thank you for the interview, Dante! We wish you all the best for your future writing endeavors. ☕
