THE SLEEP WRITERBy Laura Tackett

How It Happens

1

•The Contest

2

•Sleep Walking

3

•Dream Come True

1•The Contest

Meet Mallory

Mallory

Married to Tom, a bank teller.

She is thirty-six and works at a hospital as

a nurses aide.

Her secret ambition: To become a writer.

Mallory has two children, Katie and

James.

Mallory’s Feelings About Her Job

Pros Cons

She’s just…tired.

Twelve straight hours of wiping butts gets old.

She doesn’t feel appreciated.

Her schedule is pretty good—three twelve hour shifts a week.

Caring for the elderly brings her joy.

Mallory opens her email for a monthly newsletter from a literary society. Here’s what she finds:

The Library Around the World is pleased to announce its third annual short story contest. We are looking for original, fictional short stories of 10,000 words or less of any genre. First Prize: $1,000; a 7-day writing workshop at the elite Golden Pen Workshop; a free one year subscription to Think Like A Writer magazine. Second Prize: $500; a free year subscription to Think Like A Writer magazine. Third Prize: $200. All entries must be submitted by June 12th @ 11pm. Click here for all rules and submission guidelines.

Finally! Mallory’s chance to make her dream come true.

Brainstorming

• It was a dark and stormy….

• The cloaked man had a hook for a hand.

• Guinevere cried while waving goodbye to her true love.

Writer's Block

Mallory Talks With Tom About Her Frustration

Mallory“I just sit at

the desk and stare at a

blank screen.”

“Maybe.” Mallory sighs.

Tom just doesn’t get it.

Tom

“Maybe you should try ‘free writing’. I think I remember

that from high school."

“What’s so important about this

contest anyway?”

Writer’s Block

DeadlineJune 12th

Insomnia

2 •Sleep Walking

Insomnia

Mallory asks Dr. Muldrow for something to help her sleep.

Dr. Muldrow prescribes a sleep aide medication.

Tom is worried. “It will help me rest better,” says Mallory. “I won’t be keeping you awake by tossing and turning anymore.”

Dreams

DeadlineJune 12th

Sleep Aide

Writer’s Block

First Night•Tom wakes up. He glances at the clock. It’s 3am. He rolls over to put an arm around Mallory, but touches air instead. •He sneaks past the kids’ rooms and heads downstairs to the kitchen.•Mallory is writing vigorously in a notebook at the kitchen table. •Tom smiles and quietly goes back to bed.

Mallory’s Dream

Mallory discovers the notebook the next morning after she wakes up on the

couch.

There is a full page written. “What the…?” Mallory recognizes the

character’s name.

Blood stained carpet…

Brad literally ached at the thought of cleaning up the

mess.

It ‘s definitely her handwriting.

It already had a title:The Heartbreaker

The Next Morning

“Not bad,” thinks Mallory.

Some sleep walkers suffer

from sleep eating, Tom

finds out. But Mallory

is….sleep writing.

Mallory continues to take the sleep aide.

Mallory

continues

to sleep

walk.

3•Dream Come True

Each Night Mallory’s Dreams Become More Real

Villains

• A jilted, vengeful woman and her loyal “lap dog” boyfriend.

Murder• An unsolved

crime

Romance• Lovers get caught up

in a killer’s revenge.

• Tom watches over Mallory most nights. What first seemed like enthusiasm now looks like a scary trance.

• The short story is almost finished. Mallory is happy with the story, but deep down she feels like it was written by a stranger.

• One night, Mallory bumped the coffee table while chasing a murder suspect. She woke to find a large, purple bruise on her knee.

• Tom sees Mallory swallow the pill with the water she keeps by the bed. He sighs and shakes his head.

Sleep Aide Sleep Walkin

gSleep

Writing

Short Story

Mallory begins her nightly sleep walking

routine.

The villain is after her and she is trapped in a room. In

a desperate attempt to escape, Mallory beats the

living room window with her hands. Her hands break the

glass.

Tom finds Mallory at the kitchen table—bloody. Her wrist

are slit, but she continues to write,

completely unaware.

A Good Night’s Sleep Walking

June 12th 3am

Tom calls 911.

Mallory wakes up and becomes

hysterical.

Tom wraps kitchen towels around

Mallory’s wrists. He calls his sister and asks her to

babysit.

“Everything will be okay.” Tom tries to

comfort her. “I love you,” he

says.

Tom is in the waiting room while Mallory

gets stitched up. He pulls Mallory’s laptop out of its case along with her notebook.

He types the short story just the way it is written. He opens her email and sends The Heartbreaker.

Tom spots the notebook. He cleans it off as Mallory is loaded in to the ambulance.

One Month Later…

Mallory’s email reads:

The Library Around the World is pleased to announce that you have won 1st prize in our annual short story contest. Congratulations! Your prize includes $1000, a free 7-day stay at the elite Golden Pen Workshop, and a free one year subscription to Think Like A Writer magazine.

Actual Contest Prize Worth

$3,500

Bill For Visit to ER, Ambulance Ride &

Overnight Stay After Insurance

$5,000

The End