Sunday, February 6, 2011

New Idea! What Do You Think?

So...Friday night was a very interesting night for me. I've been having problems sleeping, so my doctor recommended I go through a sleep study to see if they could get to the bottom of the problem. Reluctantly, I agreed. When I got to the facility on Friday night where the study would take place, they led me into a room that looked very similar to a hotel room.

"Not so bad," I thought. There was a flat screen on the wall, nice furniture, a comfy bed. "Maybe this won't be so horrible after all."

Boy, was I wrong! After changing into my pajamas and about an hour of "relaxing" (surfing the web, watching T.V., reading) they came into my room to hook me up to tons of wires that would monitor my breathing, movements, and brain activity during sleep. Talk about strange! I had wires attached to almost every part of my body. Hooking these wires up was a pretty long and tedious process, but the up side was getting to talk to the nurse whose job it was to make me look like a freak. (Seriously, with all of the wires, I looked like I had just stepped off of the set of Lady Gaga's newest music video.) To pass the time, I asked the nurse all about her job and the strange things she'd seen while working there. She told me stories of sleep walkers, dream reenactors, screamers, and people who had seizures in their sleep. Interesting...

When we finally finished, the nurse told me there was a speaker in the room where we could communicate during the night if we needed. There was also a camera that would video the entire night. Weird, right? I kept thinking of how strange it would be to have her job...to be sitting in a little room into the wee hours of the night, watching someone sleep on a monitor...how freaky it might be to watch someone do some of the things she was telling me about. Right then and there, an idea for a new story began to form.

What if I wrote a story about a young nurse who worked at a sleep study center like the one I was at? What if this job was new to her, and she hadn't quite gotten used to being all alone at night, watching the complexities of someone sleep?  What if a strange new patient checked in? A young, frightened girl complaining of lifelike nightmares? I can imagine the nurse hooking the young girl up to the wires, calling for lights out, then watching the monitors in a small dark office. The girl peacefully falls asleep. After several hours, the nurse looks up to see the girl standing in front of the monitor, staring wide eyed into the camera lens. The nurse tries to communicate with the girl through the speaker.
"Sarah, I need you to get back into bed."
No response.
"Sarah, can you hear me?"
Still...nothing.
The nurse walks into Sarah's room, but by the time she gets there, all is as it should be. Sarah is back in bed and fast asleep. This happens several times throughout the night, but things get even stranger. The nurse swears she hears voices in the room.
Maybe I'm just tired. After all..it is 3:00 a.m. and I've been alone, staring at a screen all night.
The nurse listens as Sarah begins to talk in her sleep. The talking turns into screams and abnormalities in brain activity. The nurse rushes to Sarah's room just as the girl begins to convluse. She turns on the lights and grabs Sarah's arm to wake her, only to discover she isn't in the sleep study center anymore. Somehow, by making physical contact with Sarah, she has been transported into the young girl's mind. She finds herself face to face with the subjects of Sarah's nighmares, and understands just why Sarah has been so frightened. There's a spiritual battle going on...a battle for Sarah's mind and soul, and it's at night when the demons come out to play.

So...what do you guys think? I don't have everything quite mapped out in my head yet, but I know the nurse will be the key in saving Sarah and defeating the darkness. Please comment and let me know if this is something you would be interested in reading. Any and all feedback is welcome!

10 comments:

  1. Well heya :) It's Onions, from Inkpop.

    I like the idea, and it's really creepy. However, I'm not sure having it in her mind is such a great idea... maybe they get transported to the Otherworld? I don't know; whatever you think is best.

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  2. Thanks for the input. I'll definitely give the otherworld idea some thought!

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  3. Creepiness. I live for creepiness. You have no idea. So yes, I'd definitely read. =D

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  4. Yay! I'm so glad you approve Seattlelover7! :)

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  5. I like it. I think you should go for it :D

    (this is sakira on Inkpop by the way)

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  6. Hmmm do I see a 'Saving Sarah' in the future??? LOL, just kidding. This sounds really good Amy. My mother is a dream reenactor and had to do a sleep study too >.< She said it was very awkward. The premise of this book sounds soooo creepy and I'd love to read it. =D

    Carrie

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  7. I think it is definitely out there but you are an awesome writer. I am sure that you will make it where anyone would enjoy reading it. Good luck!

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  8. This sounds really cool! :D I disagree with Onions though, I think it'd be much more interesting in the girl's mind, because then you have the fact that it's her subconscious controlling everything, which adds a really cool layer to it all!

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  9. Hmmm....interesting thought, lithiawood. I think I'm leaning more towards keeping it in her mind.

    Thanks, Carlyn!

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