Young Writers Society

I've just recently awakened to the fact that insomnia is a fascinating topic to write about, and thus have developed some semblance of a plot/storyline for my next piece of writing. Here they are:

-Someone soliloquizes about his insomnia as he sits next to a window, and perhaps also discussed his problems
(Problems with this idea: Even though I could write it well, it feels too cliché and I don't like it. Though it is attractive, and I have had experience doing such a thing.)

-A... person who has chronic insomnia meets up with his girlfriend (AU) and shares a romantic moment.
(Problems with this idea: I don't really like writing romance unless I feel for my characters, but I can write romantic scenes. Yet the idea of using the stars and the moon seem, once again, cliché. But I could derive some moments from the song Vanilla Twilight by Adam Young. Any ideas?)

-Simply a night of an insomniac.
(Problems with this idea: I like this idea, but it would be hard (even though I've had it before) to describe any feelings .)

Note that I will be planning to use transient insomnia (I've had it before) or chronic insomnia.

Thanks for commenting and helping me. If any of you have experienced insomnia before, could you tell me how it felt? Just to know it better. Thanks.

I would suggest not focusing on a story scenario, but rather focus on the insomniac themselves. How do they feel? Do they even know about their conditions? What thoughts might they be thinking? Take my current novel, for example. It is called Pornography Kiss. Nothing much happens- just a teenager who gets booked with a counsellor who tells his own thoughts. However, because this is in the point of view of the teenager, we get insight into his thoughts. Because he seems to be brainwashed by all notions of exploitation he has random visions which pop up unpredictably throughout the novel. Sometimes they are sexual fantasies, sometimes they are nightmares. Some insomniacs tend to see things that aren't really there. What I would suggest is to remember how YOU felt during any time you've had insomnia. That way, it is easier for you to describe it yourself, without thinking about a potential character. Just my two bucks Hope it helps you.

Insomnia is an interesting topic to write about, but in order to build a complete story around it, there has to be more to the piece than insomnia. You said you are writing about transient insomnia. I did not know what that was until I looked it up. From wikipedia:Transient insomnia lasts for less than a week. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired psychomotor performance - are similar to those of sleep deprivation.

Now that I know what that is, I can help you develop this. I think that you should try to come up with a factor that is causing his state of sleeplessness (perhaps guilt over a past action, fear of an enemy, distress over finances or relationship). You may have thought of something already, but just in case, I thought these would be good ideas.

What I am trying to get across is that you should have a background that underlies his problem, so readers are not consumed by a single aspect of his life. Think of insomnia as a charcter trait that affects his daily life, emotions and those around him. Sometimes I read pieces about insomnia ( can't think of any right off the bat) and all the writer does is flood the reader with the characters thoughts and feelings as he/she wanders around the house or town. The reader misses out on a three dimensional being who has more life than that affliction because the details tell us the same thing repeatedly.

Btw I think all three scenarios you listed could be used in your piece because there is potential depth in all of them. I do not know your current level of writing expereience, but whatever it is, I believe that you will be able to pull this off.
Hope this helps and was not completely useless.

Um, so, I don't have many suggestions on what to chose. This is because I am an insomniac.

Imagine being awake, staring at a clock, tired but unable to sleep, until four in the morning. You wake up at eight. And no matter how little you sleep, you can't sleep more than, like, four hours. Then they give you anti-depressants and those knock you out, but you're reeeally happy before you go to sleep and they feel funny on your tongue before you swallow them, like Novocaine.

Insomnia.^ It is not that exciting. I mean, I came up with stories to pass the time, or read books, so that's probably why I'm a writer--there's not much else you can do quietly to not wake your sleeping family.

'Suppose you could have a character coming up with wild adventures they'd want to have but then they realize oh, shiz, I'm, like, a zombie and then it's really depressing. Or maybe a romance story about a person who will die from not sleeping, but then meets someone who can make them sleep? Or maybe have a non-sleeping plague and have your hero find a cure. I don't know, but, yeah--I could tell you more about insomnia, but, basically, it's staring at a ceiling for four to six hours.

It isn't fun. (However, Fight Club is fun. I now probably have an evil twin running around. Uh-oh.)

Mm. If you have any other questions, you can PM me, though. I don't really know what you want to know exactly. -looks thoughtful-

Sorry that I'm not being very helpful, but just spouting realism like a total downer. I'll poof now.