Start your story with someone saying “I can’t sleep.”

Posted in Dramatic on Nov 10, 2023

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✍️ 87 stories

“Pillow Talk” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep… Raymond, I can’t sleep. Are you awake? Raymond?” “I am now.” “I can’t sleep.” “So you keep saying, Meg.” “Help me get to sleep.” “You woke me up just to ask me that?” “I thought you’d want to know.” “How very thoughtful of you. Now, can you please let me get back to sleep?” “But I can’t sleep!” “What do you want me to do about it?” “Can you rub my back, please? You know that always relaxes me.” “I’m tired, Meg, and I was just in the middle of a great dream.” “What was it about?” “I can’t remember.” “Don’t you hate that.” “Wh...

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“Carry Me” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep,” I whisper.I am seven, standing at the foot of my parent's bed. My father is snoring, and the rain is pounding steadily onto concrete. I imagine the worms coming up for a swim somewhere in the grass.“I can’t sleep,” I say again, but I only hear the bed squeaking as my mother shifts to her other side. I can’t tell her I’m scared. I can’t tell her my brothers shoved me in the linen closet when we were playing hide-and-seek and left me there. It’s dark in my parent’s room, and I know it’s silly, but I am frozen, too scared to ge...

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“Sales Pitch” by Amanda Lieser

Submitted to Contest #224

MLM spoof with a twist. You’ve been warned. Molly pushed open the door of the conference room. It was a loud, heavy, metal one that left her fingers smelling of dust. She brushed them on her colorful leggings. The conference room wasn’t well lit, but it was in a cheap motel on the side of the highway, so Molly hadn’t expected much. It smelled of stale coffee and sugary pastries that were piled like faux gold on the table pressed against one wall. Sadie turned and smiled at her. The women embraced each other. “Thanks for comin’ out, Beau...

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“Losing Pieces of Myself” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #224

I haven’t slept in twenty-three days. I know exactly what I want to say, but I can’t say it. Thank you, my love, I can do that, I think. My jaw just rattles up and down like a nutcracker. There are noises, but not the ones I intend. I can’t sleep, my love, I wanted to say, What I wouldn’t give for some sleep.Laurel takes a wet rag and dampens my burning forehead, giving me a healthy sip of ice-cold iced tea, which I try to lift on my own with my shaky left hand, only to send splashes of reddish-orange liquid over the sheets of the bed. At si...

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“Deus ex Machina” by Karen Corr

Submitted to Contest #224

"I can't sleep."John lay awake in the dark, eyes wide open, staring at nothing, while his wife Breana slept soundly beside him. His hands were clasped behind his neck. Every time he closed his eyes, dreadful thoughts reopened them. He hadn't slept well since Breana told him what she had done.I can't go on like this, he thought. He climbed out of bed and took his phone into the living room. He keyed in the number he'd seen written on a city bus advertisement. "Need a miracle? Call anytime."John called now. "I need help," he whi...

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“Nature's Soft Nurse” by Mike Isbell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #224

NOTE: THIS STORY CONTAINS APOCALYPTIC THEMES AND SOME SLIGHT CURSING.2031 AD01001001/01000011/01000001/01001110/01010100/01010011/01001100/01000101 01000101/01010000Aric leaned over Doctor Drue Bruwell’s shoulder. With his dyslexia, he didn’t even bother trying to make sense of the ones and zeroes.“What did it say?” he asked. Drue stared at the binary digits inquisitively, clearly seeing something within them that Aric could not. Without looking down, she wrote something on a small notepad in front of her. After a long time, she let out...

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“The New New World” by Josephine Harris

Submitted to Contest #224

r/OuterSpace2000 - Posted by u/BaseTrekker 12 hours ago Anybody out there? I can’t sleep.Relief crew is overdue. We’re supposed to swap out every two weeks. They haven’t arrived and I haven’t heard anything. What’s worse is I’m by myself. The navigator got sick. They turned around and took him straight back home when they dropped me off. Ground control just says solution on its way. Hang in there. I’ve adjusted the heat...

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“Soon” by Eric St. Pierre

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep” Abigail muttered. The clock said it was 3:15am. Abigail was not happy about this. She climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom for the third time that night. Abigail was eight months, three weeks, and two days pregnant, and she felt it. With the baby due within a matter of days she was having all sorts of trouble sleeping. If it wasn’t a full bladder that troubled her it was cramps or back pain. Carrying a developing human being for several months had put a great deal of strain on her back. Abigail was ready to...

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“The Humming Cicada” by Jorge Soto

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep.”The man tossed around under the sheets, tried every segment of his pillow, and contorted his body to several adventurous yoga shapes in an effort to quell the restlessness.Finally, he called it. Looking at his watch to determine the precise time of death, it read: 1:42 AM. The fight was over, so like other nights, he retreated onto his back with his hands folded over his chest, looking at the ceiling blankly. Now in his 5th year of living alone, he had taken to the habit of occasionally talking to himself. If a thought v...

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“Clara and Joshua” by Kate Hughes

Submitted to Contest #224

Clara‘I can’t sleep’ came a voice from the other side of the bed.‘I know darling’ I replied, placing my hand softly on his shoulder. Josh had a big presentation in the morning and had been like this all week. More anxious than usual, restless, and perhaps I was imagining it but quieter in the evenings too. Tonight, we had tried everything I could come up with to encourage just one night of undisturbed sleep. I’d made our favourite meatballs (which had required two trips to the shop and an ...

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“Coyote” by Hilary Yelvington

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep,” I said. The coyote standing just 10 feet away stared back at me. I saw him most nights on my walks. Like me, he was a transplant from somewhere less domesticated. Three generations ago, my people lived on lard sandwiches during the Great Depression. Two generations ago, my people were farmers who made enough to build a small house and buy a car, but not much else. My parents found their “humble beginnings” embarrassing, and so encouraged me to “achieve.” So I did. Their other capstone piece of advice: Buy property....

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“Dreams & Nightmares” by Jack Keenan

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can't sleep.” Jaemi spoke the words out into the void as if they might come corporeal and fetch out an answer, a solution to her insomnia from the hidden corners of shadow around her, but no such answer came. She sat curled up in her bed, her knees to her chin, just as she had ended up on the many nights that came before this one. Her eyes stung. Her body felt slow, laden with the lack of rest. Her hearing oversensitive, on alert despite her safety and need for sleep, picking up every slight noise as if her ears were those of a skit...

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“Late Night Decision” by Honey Perez

Submitted to Contest #224

“Fuck, I can’t sleep” Taylor groaned. She ripped the blankets off, letting the cool air relax her. How could she fall asleep if her mind couldn’t stop replaying a simple request.I need an answer by tomorrow. Taylor simply didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t come up with one. How could she? Sure the offer was great, amazing really. She would move up from position. Get a tremendous raise. A raise she desperately needed. The answer should have been so easy. So clear. So why was she tossing and turning? Why couldn’t a simple yes roll off her ton...

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“The Witching Hour” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #224

“I can’t sleep.” “Well, at least try!” Maureen harrumphed, grabbed a fist full of duvet and span over taking more of the bed clothes than was fair. This was her protest. On the face of it, her protest was about George encroaching upon her precious sleep, but as with many arguments there was more to it than that. This argument had history. George was aware of some of the history. He wasn’t a dolt. He also knew that there would be elements of Maureen’s chagrin that he was oblivious to. Things that had had their day and he’d let go of,...

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“Shadows of Betrayal” by Breezy Bowen

Submitted to Contest #224

Shadows of Betrayal “I can’t sleep!” Said a small voice. “The storm is too scary!” It whined “Stop talking!” Said another voice, this one annoyed and irritated. “Mila, leave her alone,” a strong voice on the other side of the room said. The three of them were lying on the carpeted floor of the playroom in the basement during a stormy night. “Why should I be kept up by that baby?” Mila teased, chuckling a little. “Hey! I’m not a baby!” Whined Mary, “Make her stop, Charlie!” She sat up. “Mila, not one more word. Go to sleep.” Charlie sai...

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Start your story with someone saying “I can’t sleep.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 87 stories

“Pillow Talk” by Chris Campbell

“Carry Me” by AnneMarie Miles

“Sales Pitch” by Amanda Lieser

“Losing Pieces of Myself” by Jonathan Page

“Deus ex Machina” by Karen Corr

“Nature's Soft Nurse” by Mike Isbell

“The New New World” by Josephine Harris

“Soon” by Eric St. Pierre

“The Humming Cicada” by Jorge Soto

“Clara and Joshua” by Kate Hughes

“Coyote” by Hilary Yelvington

“Dreams & Nightmares” by Jack Keenan

“Late Night Decision” by Honey Perez

“The Witching Hour” by Jed Cope

“Shadows of Betrayal” by Breezy Bowen

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story before dawn. Your character has woken up early for a particular reason.

Write a story about two people living together who have opposing sleep cycles, and only cross paths at dawn and dusk.

Write a story about someone pulling an all nighter.

Write about someone who can’t sleep due to jet lag, and decides to set out and explore their new city at night instead.

Contest #224

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

285

Contest entries

136

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: