Onc2024 Stories

One touch, and the souls of the dead are eased into the afterlife. One touch, and a soul can be ripped from the living. With such a heavy curse, Amera lives her life fulfilling her parents' legacy: guiding troubled souls to the afterlife, while protecting the living from her deadly touch. Some call it a doorway to hell; her family called it The Crossroads-the family bar where the doorway between the dead and the living lies. When a grumpy, conceited ghost walks through the door hell-bent on solving his own murder, her touch doesn't help him cross over. Instead, it shatters the doorway entirely. Facing financial ruin and ancient evil slipping through the broken veil, Amera must partner with-and protect her heart from-her sarcastic ghostly companion to fix the shattered world." While the demons close in, Amera realizes they aren't looking for the bar. They're looking for her-and the dark, royal blood running through her veins. YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy An ONC 2024 entry. Prompts used: 7 and 73. THIS WILL NOW BE COMPLETED AS A NOVEL. Casually updating. Exclusively on Wattpad.

Whether it's your first time or your seventh time, writing a novella in 12 weeks isn't easy. As a 2021 ONC Winner and two-time Honorable Mention (2023/2024), I totally understand. After years of participation and reflection, I have lots of advice to share on how I wrote a winning novella and look forward to writing every year. Inside this guide, you can find everything from insider tips to craft chats to contest commentary. So grab a cup, get your notebook, and settle in: it's time to start writing! Copyright © 2022 Elle Chaika

In which I give tips and journal about my own writing journey for Open Novella this year.

Others call me blessed, but I know I'm cursed. The day I got my powers was the day I realised all magic comes with a cost. Nature loves its balance. I never asked for this, but this is the burden I now have to carry. I was use to the solitude of travelling alone, just my animal companion by my side for these past few years. But then I met them; this ragtag group of individuals in need of a Druid to complete a job. And they came with Boro. An egotistical, over dramatic Elven bard that taught me I might actually have something worth living for. That is if we survive this next job. *** ONC24 entry Prompt 48: 'The curse of magic is that for every reward, there is a great loss. For every spell that goes right, there is something else- in the real, natural world- that goes terribly wrong. Nature loves its balance.' ***

~The Wattys 2025 Shortlist~ ~ONC 2024 Honourable Mention~ ~~~ Alaric, the King of Silmarea, recently married to his beloved husband, needs an heir of his own blood to secure the throne. With the help of Emrys, his court magician and best friend, he recalls his youthful escapades and discovers a daughter he once had with a woman he had loved in The World Beyond The Stones (our world). He sends an unlikely but trusted trio on a quest to find her and bring her home-- a brooding dragon shifter and Highlander who owes him a favor, a dashing elf whom he loves like the son he never had, and a loyal, kindhearted dwarf, the elf's best friend. Alaric, the last scion of the old gods, weary of ruling the country and ready to retire and enjoy his love life, doesn't know that this quest will bring much more than he ever bargained for, setting in motion events plotted by the destiny that will challenge his kingdom and legacy. ~~~ Cover: My own picture.

Running from an arranged marriage, Elaria wants nothing more than a life of her choosing. On the night of her escape she finds she's not the only one making a run for it. -- The two countries of Coastalis and Mossvale have an agreement since their founding to arrange marriage and keep the friendship held for ten thousand years intact. However, when Elaria is faced with this head on, she realizes her life has been lead into complacency, and she's had enough. Ready to finally live her life on her own terms, Elaria ties her sheets into a rope and scales down the wall of her own palace to escape. But she's not the only one. Erik, who has his own struggles, is desperate to return to Mossvale to reunite with the love he left behind. Together they forge an unlikely pairing as they traverse both love and fate. However, fate has much more in store than either of them expect. -- An ONC Novella Prompt #88 Your father is forcing you to marry someone you have never met. The night before your wedding, you tie your sheets together and make your escape through the window. Halfway down you make eye contact with someone doing the exact same thing a few windows over.

Rachel worked hard, looking forward to the vacation she saved up for, a break from family troubles, only for troubles to find her as the paparazzi take an interest in a certain pop idol and some of the other things going on at the Pokemon Resort, including her brother's friend group which includes a not-friend but rival who believes his mother is an alien. Because while Pokemon exist, aliens don't, right? Disclaimer - I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender or Pokemon Concierge. This is one of my Open Novella projects for 2024. The main prompt is prompt nine, "After some long months of working harder than ever, you finally get to your well deserved vacation getaway but when you arrive at the hotel there is this one star that brings all the paparazzi and trouble with them and makes your vacation a one to remember." I'm also working with prompt four, "When life gives you ballons, you fly up into the sky," prompt thirteen, "Every family has that one member of whom no one speaks, and that's you, prompt thirty-one, "'Your Mom was an alien.' Exactly what a child needs t hear from their father as a bedtime story," and prompt thirty-four, "You wanted to go to the moon, see the silvery white glow of it for yourself. Instead, the moon came to you. One day, at your door."

Beth Kennedy has her whole life ahead of her, with her mother generous enough to plan out every single step from the perfect college, to the perfect obituary. But unfortunately, Beth can't get herself out of the past. A past she's sworn to take to the grave or otherwise face a life of being called crazy. At least, that's what Beth's delusions have always told her. Until one rainy day, she crosses paths with a beautiful stranger who she starts stalking. Incidentally, she becomes the target of malicious pranks by someone who seems to know more than they should. Lies are exposed, secrets revealed and uncovering the answer behind it all, might cost her the end of a peaceful future before it can even begin.

Best friends November Adams and Jessie Reynolds-Somber have always been there for each other. November's supported Jessie throughout her childhood leukaemia, and Jessie's...done the equivalent in return. When November's seventeenth birthday doesn't go as planned, she takes a bus ride in the hopes that anywhere would be better than her family's stuffy apartment. Unfortunately, it only gets worse when the bus breaks down and she narrowly avoids being hit by an oncoming ambulance. Inside that ambulance? Jessie---and her family's avoiding November's questions. An unsent email may have the answer. On it is a bucket list: eight items, a letter, and a promise, from Jessie, that she'll explain everything when the list is complete. But the further through the list November gets, the more she learns what's going on, and the less she wants to know the whole truth. [FORMERLY AN ENTRY FOR THE 2024 ONC]

Mia woke up, strapped to a chair, a long way from home. Who can she trust? My ONC24 story. Guidance: swearing, sexual references.

In a ruined world, what traces of humans remain? In an overgrown corner of a once-intact room, nestled in the roots of a young tree, a barely functional camera watches over the decay. Maintenance calls go unanswered, leaving it to conserve power, turning on its lens only when things get within its proximity range. Its largely monotonous world gets disrupted when a family of birds make the tree it rests on home. Mysteriously, their presence stirs a torrent of memories within its circuits, some intact and others corrupted. However, recalling memories comes at a cost, and its power, gleaned from the sun, gets drained faster than it can recover. Despite the risk, the camera cannot cease. It is compelled to observe and document the intertwining of past and present unfolding before its lens. As it continues it realises why the family of birds recalls seemingly unrelated memories. ? It was bound by a promise of the past, one that was corrupted beyond repair until an overlap between its owner and the birds were found. Now, repairs of core memories are underway and soon, the bigger picture reveals itself. The battery falls, and the past gives way to the present. *Longlister of the 2024 ONC*

María Perez wohnt mit ihrer Mutter und ihrer Stiefschwester Mary Goodwell zusammen. Während María ziellos in den Tag hineinlebt, scheint Mary ihr Leben wirklich im Griff zu haben. Doch als Mary vom College suspendiert wird, droht ihre Stiefmutter ihr mit dem Rauswurf, wenn sie nicht schnell eine neue Ausbildung findet. Sie wird fündig und beginnt bei Snow Inc. ihr neues Leben. Erfolgreicher als je zuvor kehrt Mary nach einer Dienstreise heim und Marías Mutter möchte ihrer leiblichen Tochter nun auch ein Stück vom Kuchen verschaffen. Doch María kommt die Verwandlung ihrer Schwester unheimlich vor. Was steckt wirklich hinter Snow Inc.?

| ONC 2024 SHORTLIST | Nikolas Hoffman just wants to lay low. After coming out as transgender in high school, he made a vow to draw as little attention to himself as possible, diving headfirst into his work as a copy editor as soon as he graduated college. Now, Nikolas has finally decided to give himself a much-needed vacation to a small beach-side town in upstate California. However, everything takes a turn when an all-too-familiar face shows up at his hotel. Axel Reed is the well-known guitar player and lead singer of The Kissing Teeth - and just so happens to be Nikolas' ex-friend. Much to the latter's dismay, Axel has a nasty habit of drawing crowds of paparazzi everywhere he goes and is always down for a little mischief. It's safe to say that Nikolas' vacation just got interesting. ◦✭◦ Written for ONC 2024. Keep in mind that since this is a contest entry, this is an unedited draft and, as such, there may be some grammatical errors I've missed. This story was inspired by the following prompts: (Main Prompt) 9. After some long months of working harder than ever, you finally get to your well deserved vacation getaway but when you arrive at the hotel there is this one star that brings all the paparazzi and trouble with them and makes your vacation a one to remember. 8. You start singing along to a movie soundtrack late at night forgetting that your window is open. Someone from the outside starts singing with you. 33. A broken heart beats with all its pieces. And it still wants the same person. Word count: 29,030 words Current status: Shortlister

Prince Farris Lumenne only wanted to find out the secrets of the magical artifact he picked up during the only adventure his father, the King, let him go on. He didn't expect it to end with the elusive villager he had befriended facing imprisonment and impending death... by beheading. Based on prompt #55: You're a young royal in disguise who befriends a villager with a scarred face. One day they are arrested for stealing something you gave to them.

The narrative follows the journey of a man thrust into a bizarre quest to find his identity, only to discover someone else has taken his place. "I Am the Real One, Right?" is a mind-bending, witty sci-fi story I'm writing for ONC2024, inspired by the following prompt: Prompt 23: It's a dark and stormy night, and you're running along the road, overwhelmed by what has just occurred. Suddenly, a strange lightning bolt strikes you, causing you to split into two people. Unaware of each other, one continues forward while the other turns back. Thank you for taking the time to read my story; I hope you enjoy it. Please don't forget to comment and vote. I'd love to hear your feedback.

He can climb the tower, but can he win her heart? Victoria Grunell loved her job as a personal assistant. Or at least she did, until her absentminded boss of five years decided to suddenly retire and disappear, without leaving even a current phone number, the jerk. And it's the day before her best friend's wedding reception. At the party, she meets Trenton Lloyd, drummer for the hit cover band Aspire, and wonders if her luck is already turning around. Unfortunately, they have no time to explore the sparks between them, as Vicky is kidnapped by an evil organization hoping to coerce Trent to join them. Trent will have to keep his cool to get Vicky home safe from the tower of terrors, but will he be able to show her his heart, to earn her love in return?

This is an entry for the Open Novella Contest (ONC) 2024 Meet Blair, your average seamstress who works a thankless job sewing dresses for bachelorettes, weddings, and a plethora of other events in dire need of women in dresses. Her hopes and dreams are the same as all of us, owning a mortgage in hopes of affording a better place than her run-down, one-bedroom apartment. When a chance to afford a decent property with a down payment arises, how could she say no? Though unlike all of us, Blair is capable of seeing beyond the veils of our existential plane. She has seen the limbo of the dead, and what she saw has forever altered her life. She will soon discover that this house of hers is a cursed tomb of memories of it's past inhabitants' grudges and unfinished businesses. And she's not the only one... Cover by @MilaForLife

The world is in a threat of imbalance. Countless children and young people are murdered, all to obtain supremacy in the upcoming era. In the midst of this bloodshed, the only human town with no child victim suddenly welcomes foreign visitors. It is a mysterious town, one that has been closing off its gate from outsiders for many decades. However, the town doesn't welcome just anyone. Only those with an invitation are allowed to visit, and one of them is Aryan. Burdened with moral duty as a historian, Aryan accepts a job offer to teach in a high school. Together with his assistant, he investigates the town not only to find a clue about the evil force behind the murder, but also to help save the world from the threat of war between two races.

There's no bond like a girl and her first dog. And, once it's all said and done, there's no loss like it, either. Hugo has lived a long, happy life with Bay, his one and only human. When their time together comes to an end, Hugo watches Bay's life unfold from an afterlife designed just for dogs. While Hugo watches from Dog Heaven, Bay makes a grief-stricken wish from the heart and Hugo vows to answer it for her, even if she doesn't know it. Forced to watch the rest of Bay's life unfold from a distance, Hugo plots to bring joy back to her, and he knows just how to do it. Content warning: pet loss ONC 2024 entry, prompt 24: A wish made from the heart is always answered, sooner or later. Total word count: 23,049 Recognition: - 2024 Open Novella Contest Shortlist - Contemporary Lit Experimental list - Ambassador's Slice of Life list - Ambassador's Reads list - Featured in February 2025 Ambassador's Recommendations

There is still a boy named Raziel; Son of Hades, slayer of Death. With two descendants of legends, he faces the great Hypnos' wrath. To journey to the underworld they must find Da Vinci's hidden work. And the sleeping army isn't the only threat in their path. -------------- Raziel West is entangled in the affairs of secret societies built on the foundations of Greek mythology. He must use his wits and demigod powers to come out victorious and find a doorway to the Underworld. Accompanied by his more-than-ordinary friends, Bryce and Queen, he journeys to the Underworld to face Hypnos and find out why Hades seems to be slacking on his duties. -----‐--------- *BOOK 2 in the SoH series. Based on ONC 2024 Prompt 61 Minor/secondary Prompt; Prompt 42