Well, folks, long time no ONC!
I am so excited to be back for another year of creativity and community! With two weeks to go until the prompt drop, I decided to take my usual read through of ONC 2025 guidebook, and came across an interesting rule change established in the FAQ:
This is a really interesting rule change that has not been apart of previous years, but seems to be more in line with Wattpad company strategies to get potential readers to a story as quick as possible. This strategy seems to align with their "Immediate, Commercial, Engaging" goal that has emerged from the Wattpad Creators program.
The Open Novella account further clarified this change when prompted by an ONC veteran and concerned writer:
Before I go on, I want to define what a prologue is. According to Wikipedia (yes, I trust the good ol' pedia): a prologue is an "opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information."
In my own words: it is a narrative form and opening part of the story. So why isn't the Open Novella Contest counting is as narrative? Why are they putting prologues in the category of non-narrative texts, on the same level as author notes, aesthetics, character descriptions, and playlistsâdespite prologues being "an opening to a story" aka "set-up?"
The reason for this change goes back to my theory that Wattpad wants to get more entries that follow their preferred method of storytelling. A lot of ONC novellas are expanded into novels after the contest, and a couple seem to win the Wattys ever year. Since the Wattys are meant to showcase the best of what Wattpad has to offer, preference is given to stories that fit its genre standards and marketing goals.
Wattpad wants stories to fit its standards of being "immediate, commercial, and engaging" i.e. not having prologues and getting straight to story "action." Because Wattpad wants that, it is going to apply those standards to its contests, too. This is why I think the rules have been changed for the ONC.
However, I really don't agree with the change. Prologues are a choice writers make. They are a narrative tool and part of the craft story telling, and should count, because they are words writers have put down on the page as part of their narrative.
This rule change also has a weakness: writers can go over the contest's 40,000 word "limit" simply by titling their first chapter "prologue!" While judges may not count prologues, readers sure will, as they are apart of the overall story! Not counting prologues only applies to the contest, not the work of writers and the engagement of readers. It also benefits those of us who tend to over-write: we can tell more story while our novellas still fall within the true word count.
That's all I have to say for now. By now, you probably know I'm really interested in what the ONC community has to say so please feel free to leave a comment or two with your thoughts!
Do you agree with and like this rule change? Does it benefit those of us who tend to overwrite? Are you a fan of reading and or writing prologues? How else do you think the ONC will change to fit Wattpad company standards/goals?
Let me know and happy ONC prepping! <3