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

“Rest Comes With the Morning” by Rose H

Submitted to Contest #138

Trigger warning: This story contains a brief reference to suicide and mentions of death. I never wanted to fall asleep as a child after realizing that sleeping was as near to dying as a person could get. The mind shuts down and attempts to block out all the things that make up the parts of life—sights, sounds, feelings so strong that they make the body react in physical ways. Like vomiting before an exam or experiencing that little buzzing hum in the tongue and at the back of the neck the first ...

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“A Girl and Her Cow ” by Amalia Wompa

Submitted to Contest #138

It’s May 12th, 1933 somewhere in Oklahoma. I refuse to see the point in saying a city specifically because all of Oklahoma is the same to me right now. Just dirt; over and over again for endless miles, cannibalizing itself into tornadoes and storms that leave dust in our lungs and eyes. I don’t want to leave the stable, to go to sleep, to end this experience prematurely. It would be such a waste of clean air to spend it sleeping. I’m staring at my family’s last cow. A female. Kept inside and kept alive scarcely by our leftovers, as t...

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“Fallen Asleep” by Majestic Skye

Submitted to Contest #138

Day 1 of no sleep:I raise my hand. I ask Ms.Wilson if I can go to the bathroom. After getting permission I head out of the classroom. The first few days are always the worst. You’ll get headaches, can’t focus, and just straight up feel like shit. I get to the bathroom and open the nearest stall. I puke into the toilet for a few minutes before wiping my mouth with toilet paper. I wash my hands and look at my reflection in the mirror. I look like shit. It’s not that I don’t want to sleep, I’m just scared to. I head back to class almost trippin...

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“His Eyes Were Blue” by The Vivacious Heart

Submitted to Contest #138

This story contains sensitive subject matter, such as a car accident. “They say when you sleep, it’s a lot like dying. Everything is dark.” “But what about dreams? Dreams aren’t dark. They have tons of color.” I would ask my grandfather. He would smile from his pipe, blowing the smoke above my six year old head. Just always out of reach. “Most people dream in black and white.” “Not me,” I shook my head violently. “I dream in color.” “Well then, you must have a very vivid imagination.” “What does vivid mean?” “Wild.” “M...

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“Princess Aurora Borealis ” by Maisie Webb

Submitted to Contest #138

"What is it that scares you about our new house?" Mom would always say. I would just shrug my shoulders and say "I dunno" because it was impossible to pinpoint exactly what it was about that place that made it give off a horrible menacing feeling. Maybe it was the false wood panels on the closet doors. When you looked at them closely enough, you could see ghastly faces in the black and brown swirly lines. Like a person frozen mid-scream. Or maybe it was the moths that would flock to the window at night, desperately scrambling for the light b...

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“The Day” by Braden Williams

Submitted to Contest #138

A sweet melody floated through the air from a choir of insects playing their instruments perfectly in sway with their bodies. Long grass waved along the expanse of the hill as though in sway with the music. Occasionally clicking together as though giving an uproarious applause. The breeze leading the chorus, the waving, and the cheering all the way to a large single oak tree perched on the crest of the hill. Whereupon an individual lay under listening absently to the music. Enjoying the breeze and the warmth of their skin from the cloudless ...

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“The Thing in The Corner” by Eve H

Submitted to Contest #138

I am tired. I am so tired. I run my hands through my hair and move to open the blinds all the way, letting the last of the sunset into my apartment. I switch on all the lights, even the small one in the oven and the one inside my closet. I feed my fish, watch the bubbles rise from their pale lips. The little red one snakes quickly around the tank while the lazy gold one hides in the artificial plants. I dip a finger in the water to make sure it isn’t getting too warm in the stuffy apartment. It’s not, thank god. I wash my hands thoroug...

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“The Problem With Creative People” by Paul Pugliese

Submitted to Contest #138

THE PROBLEM WITH CREATIVE PEOPLE I happen to be one of those type people. Right now it is 2:15 AM…..yeah, I am one of those guys. For the past few weeks I have been working on a painting and hitting the sack at 4 or 5 AM with my dog Luther, he sticks around when I do this stuff. I also play the guitar and will start playing at midnight and go until I fall asl...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 53 stories

“Rest Comes With the Morning” by Rose H

“A Girl and Her Cow ” by Amalia Wompa

“Fallen Asleep” by Majestic Skye

“His Eyes Were Blue” by The Vivacious Heart

“Princess Aurora Borealis ” by Maisie Webb

“The Day” by Braden Williams

“The Thing in The Corner” by Eve H

“The Problem With Creative People” by Paul Pugliese

🌟 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: