Whether it's your first time or your sixth time, writing a novella in 12 weeks isn't easy.
As a 2021 ONC Winner and 2023 Honorable Mention, I would know. After years of participation and reflection, I have lots of advice to share on how I did it. In...
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Prompts are almost out, so I thought now would be the perfect time to share what I consider to be the most important advice I can give about the ONC: your prompt (more importantly, how you use it) is how you win.
This advice started with me going on a late-night reading binge before the Ambassadors revised the 2022 ONC rules. While skimming all the contingencies, one line made stop and its implications forced me to jot it down in this project's notes: "The Ambassadors will review and select a total of five (5) finalists based equally on creativity and originality (50%/50%)."
That right there is the formula for winning, folks!
While "creativity" is subjective and open to interpretation ( I see it as execution, aka how well did you use your to tell a compelling story in an unpredictable way) "originality" is less so.
To win the ONC, you need to write something unlike anyone else The easiest way to do this? Use the prompt you select in a unique way, take a risk and use an uncommon one, or package it in your unique story-telling style.
But that's easier said than done.
The way not to go about it is by spying on your fellow writers and making sure your story has a completely different setting, plot, etc., but rather by telling a story only you can tell. Use your mind from the start, not after comparing your idea to everyone else's and forming a consensus of what's popular.
If they fit your style, I recommend using the quotes because they are often open to more interpretation. They have been selected by the judges for a reason, usually due to their unique vibe or connotations. Exploit their lack of definition or structure as best you can, because that'll help with originality. No two people think alike.
I kept this in mind last year when I selected a quote by Virginia Woolf as my prompt, "I am in the mood to dissolve into the sky." For me, I wanted to explore not the literal ability of someone wanting to dissolve (that'd be more sci-fi), but rather why they wanted to dissolve in the first place. This idea was channeled into the main character of "NOVYYE SAINTS," Mysh, a young thief with a self-given name meaning mouse because she is able to vanish quickly and quietly like one.
While I referenced poison gas dissolving into the sky and her ability to slip-away as a ironic motif to the quote, most of the focus stayed what motive she had for wanting to disappear-- in both a physical and metaphorical sense. Her desire of wanting to leave (or dissolve, if you will) her criminal life was core to understanding her backstory, motives, character arc, and ultimately the plot, allowing for full incorporation of the prompt in a way nobody else had.
If I had to guess, my choice to weave my interpretation of the prompt through out all of my novella's elements is the main reason why I am an ONC winner.
Another piece of community-curated advice comes from prayingtothealiens, who noted that you can also infuse originality by genre-switching your prompt. Try taking a teen fiction prompt and making it into an action-adventure story or vice versa!
While the ONC organizes the prompts by genre, nothing is stopping you from using a science fiction prompt for a romance novella or a mystery prompt for a historical novella! Bending a prompt to enhance your style is a great way to write something nobody else can. It's sure to make for a unique reading experience for the judges as well, thereby moving you higher up on their list.
Now that you know these things, choose wisely and happy writing!
