Write about a character who doesn’t want to go to sleep.

Posted in Horror on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 53 stories

“The Long First Day” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #138

The Long First Day Her body was still, standing at the floor to ceiling window and though her gaze appeared to be aimed at the sights outside, there was only her own reflection. It was dark on the lake, hell it was dark everywhere nowadays she mused. She had no work in the morning, those days were done, but there were duties that required a refreshed body and mind. Her head turned to see the clock, nearly ten and she wasn’t tired enough for bed. Her heart ached for rest though, it wanted to not be beating for awhile, if that were possible...

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“The Last Day of Summer” by Layla Robinson

Submitted to Contest #138

I can't“I can’t!”“You can.”“I said I CAN’T!”I really can’t, and I swear if she tells me I can one more time…“And I said YOU CAN!”Arguing wasn’t working. She wasn’t listening, and I know she won’t listen, no matter how important it is that she does. She'll think I’m making stuff up again just to delay going to sleep but this time I’m not.If it were as simple as just wanting to watch TV a bit longer, that would be a relief. But tonight, everything was different.If I slept tonight, there may not be a tomorrow.Pondles“Come on, Billy boy, hurry u...

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“Companions in the Sun” by Brady Hogan

Submitted to Contest #138

Waking to sunlight coming through the bedroom window and warming his face, Leo hears his parents and baby sister in the kitchen. He walks down the narrow hall and joins them to eat some breakfast and stare at his sister. She is a wonder and a source of some jealously for Leo. It has been his dad, mom, and Leo for a few years now, and he is used to this. Even the dog Tiki is fun to have around and tease with food. His sister takes up a lot of time and attention from Leo and he is not too ...

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“Between Night and Day” by Leslie Medberry

Submitted to Contest #138

So much boredom, tedium, cabin fever, mental haze. In the underground bunker the soldiers did all they could to stay alert. To keep their mental focus, they played cards, checkers, and chess. They listened to MP3 players, did calisthenics, wrote in journals. Tinkering with repairs, sewing, cleaning their weapons, they tried to avoid becoming snappish. They rode a line between strength and force. Waiting to receive their signal, to enact the drill they were trained for. Through the trap door, and a few steps in a dark passage, out into ...

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“Darkest Before” by Brittany W.

Submitted to Contest #138

[Trigger warnings: divorce, mental health.]They say there is no rest for the wicked, but there doesn’t seem to be rest for anyone.Vee feels this most when she is lying in bed after a long day of staring at a computer screen, the blankness of a dingy, maimed wall (flat paint is the worst), and into the eyes of her daughter. She is too young to understand; she is a toddler in every sense of the word, ambling from one part of the house to another, taking on greedy grips of the world, unaware of how fragile it has become.The thought makes sleep ...

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“Sleep” by Brandon Zarycki

Submitted to Contest #138

Sleep Nolan Lucas opens his eyes and immediately starts looking around his bedroom. For the past 6 months this has become his normal morning routine. Most people might grab their phone and check their social media or sit up with their eyes still half closed cursing the start of a new day. Nolan no longer has any social media accounts. He had Facebook which he at one point did use pretty regularly. Grabbing his phone from his nightstand and checking to see if anything good was going down in the World of Facebook was how he started his days...

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“The sun” by Maximilian Gunnarsson

Submitted to Contest #138

The child stands on the pavement with a green ball tightly gripped, the sun illuminates her small character, and a small, blurry, light surrounds her form. The orange light combines with her brown hair, creating a head of gold. A man passes by her, and her piety temporarily disappears, leaving a pale girl standing on her own. When the light returns to her, she has the vibrance and warmth to attract small insects to swarm around her, curiously fly close to inspect this peculiar little person. The wind carries some of these bugs up to the wind...

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“Feniseca Tarquinius” by Charlie Bright

Submitted to Contest #138

As Oscar locked up the house before bed, he heard the creaking of floor boards behind him. Glancing in the mirror by the front door, he caught sight of a white nightdress sliding its way underneath the overstuffed couch. He sighed and locked the door. Sitting down next to the couch, Oscar stuck his hand in the gap between it and the floor. “Hola, mija…” A little hand grabbed him and he squeezed, his fingers dwarfing hers. “Hola, Tío…” “It’s past your bedtime.” Oscar waited a moment. She would have to come out on her own; the underside ...

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“One Last Day” by Hayden Morrison

Submitted to Contest #138

Lin coughed. His long, straight, raven-black hair shined in the light of the bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Normally, it would not have shone so brightly, but the hair had remained unwashed for days, natural grease and oils now coating his head with a radiant glow. Although he usually liked to stay clean, Lin had not been able to use the shower or bath often as of late- doctor’s orders. This young man was relatively tall, his full height was hidden by the blankets on the hospital bed on which he was laying. Across from the sickly Lin...

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“THE BLACK CHICK” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #138

THE BLACK CHICK Tommy had always been a good, docile child. He had never made a fuss in the evening when, at the appointed time, he had to go to bed. Often, although not always, his mother, Louise, sat next to him on the bed and began to tell him a fairy tale. Most of the time ( almost always) Tommy fell asleep before she got to the end of the tale. Then she, Louise, came back in the living room to her husband Clive and her ( their) two teenage children, Peter and Maggie. On the evenings there were also s...

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“Awake” by Paola Villacis

Submitted to Contest #138

Awake, things were always the same. The window by my bedroom was always closed, the wooden floor in the hallway was always quiet— no creaking or erratic footsteps bundling about outside by the kitchen. The sound of incessant doors closing and opening wouldn’t make me jump in sudden fright, making me rush to the source of the noise, my pulse in my ears. I couldn’t hear the haunting sound of my fine china breaking or my shoes being scattered across the bedrooms like a ghost craving to destroy my space. Yes, awake was better. Awake things wer...

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“And the Stars Blinked out” by Egg :)

Submitted to Contest #138

A big, wooden cottage was nestled amongst the tall pines and grass stems of a forest. A slim dirt path wound through the forest and into the humble village surrounding the Zosea Empire’s central kingdom, Prin. Prin was a tall and brooding structure. It was carved into shape from an obsidian stone, sitting on a jutting out plateau of Mount. Galileo. Prin was full of fire and brimstone, flares coming through the dark windows occasionally, metals clashing together in time to an unheard beat. Back in the cottage, a small boy sat in a s...

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“Homegrown Menace” by David Lontok

Submitted to Contest #138

Haste and tumbles layered the floors of roller skate discos, long lines in restaurants barely moved, and house parties brought the noise. Friday night had arrived at last, and Hunter, with his clean afro and chocolate skin, was on his way to get a gulp of that good time. His squad of bros from high school waited for him near the ticket booth, hoping to get good seats.After the explosive film, they played rounds of bowling on the mall’s basement floor. Sad scores broke out countless laughs from the bunch, and strikes made a few go cocky. They...

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“The Sweetest Dream” by Sarah Firth

Submitted to Contest #138

It's three o'clock in the morning and I'm awake. The window is open and the crickets are chirping, keeping time with my disjointed thoughts. Summer breeze blows in through the screen and I kick the blanket off my feet, wiggling my toes against the balm of mid July. You snore when you sleep. I’ve known this almost as long as I’ve known you, which is almost as long as I’ve known myself. You don't pretend it isn't true, and I love you for it. I love you for all the bad habits you wear on your sleeve so proudly; stress smoking, nail biting, ...

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“All the Joy” by Jan Gwazdacz

Submitted to Contest #138

A grin on his face, Ludwig ran around the living room with his plastic rifle, yelling out bits and pieces of the things he’d heard in a western he watched with his dad. ‘I know you’re there!’ He pointed the gun at the sofa. ‘ Come out with your hands in the air!’ Conrad watched, as his son made a plethora of gun sounds jumping around, grabbed his heart, falling to his knees and gave out a long, high-pitched ‘no,’ before plummeting to the ground.‘Ludwig!’ A voice came from the front of the house. ‘Matt is here!’In an instant the God’s ha...

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Write about a character who doesn’t want to go to sleep.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 53 stories

“The Long First Day” by Maureen MacLennan

“The Last Day of Summer” by Layla Robinson

“Companions in the Sun” by Brady Hogan

“Between Night and Day” by Leslie Medberry

“Darkest Before” by Brittany W.

“Sleep” by Brandon Zarycki

“The sun” by Maximilian Gunnarsson

“Feniseca Tarquinius” by Charlie Bright

“One Last Day” by Hayden Morrison

“THE BLACK CHICK” by Mara Masolini

“Awake” by Paola Villacis

“And the Stars Blinked out” by Egg :)

“Homegrown Menace” by David Lontok

“The Sweetest Dream” by Sarah Firth

“All the Joy” by Jan Gwazdacz

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story on a day when the sun never sets.

Write a story about an afternoon picnic gone wrong.

End your story with someone saying: “What a day.”

Write about light returning to a place that has been deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively.

Contest #138

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: