3:00 AM

The Prompt

Have you ever experienced the same dream or nightmare over and over again? Did you feel like it was trying to tell you something?

For this writing challenge, we are looking for a fiction story that explores mysterious world of recurring dreams or nightmares. You may use real life inspiration or come up a with a nightmare that only exists beyond your wildest dreams.

In your story, your protagonist is haunted or entranced by a dream that replays night after night. What emotions do they feel in and out of the dream? What does the dream symbolize to them? How does it impact their waking life?

Writing Guide

Protagonist's Experience: Describe the recurring dream or nightmare in vivid detail. What does the protagonist see, feel, hear, and sense? Does the dream evolve over time?

Symbolism and Meaning: Consider the underlying message the dream is sending. Is it a manifestation of the protagonist's fears, desires, or past experiences?

Impact on Reality: Show how the recurring dream affects the protagonist's daily life. Does it lead them to take certain actions or cause them to change their behavior?

Resolution: Consider providing a resolution to the story. Does the protagonist uncover the meaning behind the dream? Do they find a way to end the recurrence, or do they come to terms with it?

In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:

• Between 500-2,500 words.
• Submitted to the Fiction, Futurism, or Horror communities.

The Prizes

• Grand Prize: $500
• Second Place: $200
• 10 Runners-Up: $20

Special shout-out to Leo Dis Vinci for inspiring this challenge idea in Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges.

For your piece to be eligible, it should adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on June 18, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The 3:00 AM Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.