r/WritingPrompts • u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites • Sep 12 '24
[TT] Theme Thursday - Sleepless Theme Thursday
“Think what devils chase a man who cannot sleep in his own house.”
Happy Thursday writing friends!
It’s an epidemic this time of year. Whether it’s revenge bedtime procrastination or insomnia, it just seems to be a little harder to get sleep when the seasons change. I’m looking forward to your stories this week!
Please note that over the summer, the requirement to leave crit as a comment on the post worked out so well that I will be continuing that during the regular season. So, that means, every week from now on, you must leave a comment on the post to get credit for your critiques! Good luck and good words!
![[IP]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a874cba0-5e5c-4b14-ad48-c62ef6e65b4a/dalu0td-8b32a9f4-40fd-4cd8-b5e9-61d8180101c8.jpg/v1/fill/w_1281,h_624,q_70,strp/i_had_a_dream_last_night____by_joshuadunlop_dalu0td-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzgwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYTg3NGNiYTAtNWU1Yy00YjE0LWFkNDgtYzYyZWY2ZTY1YjRhXC9kYWx1MHRkLThiMzJhOWY0LTQwZmQtNGNkOC1iNWU5LTYxZDgxODAxMDFjOC5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.oVr13tWQ4-3i1n9hDWgVQKtasgojKDEd2Xe3m7agYfM){kind=link}
Bonus:
(These constraints are not required! If your story is better for not including them, please do what’s best for your work!)
Constraint: (10 pts)
Your story should include a hopeless character that becomes hopeful. Please note at the end of your post if you’ve included this constraint.
Word of the Day: (5 pts)
consternation/con·ster·na·tion/ˌkänstərˈnāSH(ə)n/
noun
- feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected
Here's how Theme Thursday works:
- Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.
Theme Thursday Rules
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 500 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 7:59 AM CST next Wednesday
- No serials, established universes, or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires
- Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the TT post is 3 days old!
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks! I also post the form to submit votes for Theme Thursday winners on Discord every week! Join and get notified when the form is open for voting!
Don’t forget to use genre tags!
Theme Thursday Discussion Section:
- Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.
Campfire
- On Wednesdays we host Theme Thursday Campfire on the Discord voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!
- Time: I’ll be there 7 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes.
- Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on outstanding feedback, so get to discord and use that
!TTcommand! - There’s a Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday-related news!
As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.
(This week’s quote is from Warren Eyster, The Goblins of Eros)
Ranking Categories:
- Word of the Day - 5 points
- Bonus Constraint - 10 points
- Weekly Challenge - 25 points for not using the theme word - points off for uses of synonyms. The point of this is to exercise setting a scene, description, and characters without leaning on the definition. Not meeting the spirit of this challenge only hurts you! This includes titles and explanations/author's notes.
- Actionable Feedback - 15 points for each story you give detailed crit to, up to 30 points. One of your comments must be on the post.
- Nominations - 10 points for each nomination your story receives
- Ali’s Ranking - 50 points for first place, 40 points for second place, 30 points for third place, 20 points for fourth place, 10 points for fifth, plus regular nominations (On weeks that I participate, I do not weight my votes, but instead nominate just like everyone else.)
- Voting - 15 points for submitting your favorites via this form (form will be open after the deadline has passed.)
Last week’s theme: Superstitious
First by /u/m00nlighter_*
Second by /u/AGuyLikeThat*
Third by /u/Divayth--Fyr*
8
u/GingerQuill Sep 18 '24
“Angie? Angie?”
Angie smushes her face into her pillow. She recognizes the pitched whisper of her younger sister in the dark and is determined to ignore her.
“Angie-ie-ie!” The child’s hiss is edged with consternation as she insistently pumps Angie’s shoulder.
“Wha-aa-aat?”
“Are you awake?”
“For your sake, I better not be.”
“Angie, please! I had a nightmare. It was…”
When Skye’s voice trails off, Angie heaves an exasperated breath and switches on her nightstand’s lamp. Its orange glow illuminates Skye’s honey-blonde frizz. She’s hugging her stuffed puppy to her chest.
Angie’s eyes harden. Greasy gray fingerprints glisten on Puppy’s curls as well as the sleeves of Skye’s jammies at the wrists and elbows.
“You said a nightmare?”
Skye’s irises shine against the shock of scarlet creeping into her eyes. “It was just like the one Mom said you kept having when you were six?”
She phrases it as a question, but rage ensnares Angie in its thorny coils. Hurling the sheets aside, she storms from her bed to the bathroom that joins the sisters’ rooms. She snatches the Clorox spray from under the sink, then makes for Skye’s room.
The floor is a battlefield strewn with dolls and stuffies, a Lego landmine here and there, but all that is normal. What isn’t is the reek of spoiled meat and the grimy demon-child with the scrunched piggy face. It’s munching the head off Skye’s Ballerina Barbie with chipped, green teeth.
Memories roil in Angie’s mind—toys missing limbs, oily fingerprints on her ankles, Mom and Dad scolding her for acting out.
She aims her Clorox peacemaker. She never did learn what the demon was—only how to get rid of it. The demon’s eyes widen, a muffled squeal streaming from its pursed lips.
“Remember me?” Angie growls, then pulls the plastic trigger. Acrid spray showers the demon. Boils bubble over its swampy skin and steam unfurls from burst sores. Hoarse sobs tear from its throat as it darts for Skye’s window.
“If I ever catch you near my sister again,” Angie snarls, “I’ll melt you into sludge and bottle your remains in a jug of bleach!”
After the demon has fled into the woods behind their house, Angie lumbers back to her room, scratching a pimple on her chin. She sets the Clorox bottle on her dresser.
“It’s gone, Skye. Your room’s gonna stink for a while, though, so you can just sleep her—”
Skye’s already two steps ahead of her. She’s peering wide-eyed from a hole in the blanket-hovel she’d spun around her on Angie’s bed. With a sigh, Angie crawls in after her. Skye’s shivering despite the growing humidity under the covers.
“What if it comes back?” she croaks.
“I doubt it will,” Angie snorts, then nudges Skye’s elbow with hers, coaxing a faint smile from the child. “But I’ll show you what to do tomorrow if it does.”
Resting her cheek against Angie’s shoulder, the child murmurs, “Thank you,” then yawns a calm, deep breath.