Ah, Sleep

For the past few nights I've had a terrible time sleeping, and let me tell you, when I'm groggy, I'm not at my best.  This morning Sadie begged multiple Scooby Snacks by standing in her usual spot and staring at her treat box while I made my coffee.  She always gets one while the water boils.  In a fog, I gave her three before I realized she'd had more than her allotment.  I told her the con game was up, and she lay down to sleep.  Lucky her!

Sleep in general might be a snooze to read about, but to me anything in general becomes dull.  Specifics bring depth and uniqueness to whatever you're writing, and even a topic as tiresome as sleep can be revived by details.

Today, I challenge you to make sleep interesting.  Write a scene in which your character is sleeping (or staying awake) and include all the details that make the act unique to your character.  Is the character alone?  What is he/she feeling or thinking?  Sound sleeper or insomniac?  Is something keeping the character up (worries, work, noise, celebrating)?  Is it day or night?  Are there any bedtime rituals the character follows?  Clothing?  Setting?

If you come up with something you'd like to share, go ahead and post it in the comments.  I'd love to read it.

Photo by Benderish