Stories for the sleepers

Most authors want to write stories that keep readers turning pages long into the night. But what if your job is literally to put people to sleep?

reMarkable user Sian Tondut works as a sleep story writer in the record label industry. Usually delivered as podcasts, these stories mix calming narratives with soothing sounds to help people fall asleep.

“They focus on mindfulness and meditation as well as helping people sleep,” Sian explains. “Writing the sleep stories allows me to be creative, but it also lets me focus on those mindfulness aspects and moments myself.”

“As an author, it’s important that I have an easy opportunity to write down all my ideas when they come to me. Sometimes you don’t know when inspiration comes.”

Creation by immersion

As a writer, Sian is constantly searching for inspiration. She does her best work when she’s able to sit, focus, and watch the people around her, picking up the human quirks that turn words on paper into living, breathing, fleshed-out characters.

“I like to be inspired by the people that are around, thinking up different situations or storylines that I can incorporate into my writing,” Sian says. “It gives my writing a little bit more substance, and I feel like I can relate that to the real world.”

By taking notes by hand on her paper tablet, there’s no laptop screen to block out any of the life happening around her. So Sian can lean back in her seat at her local café, Marker in hand, and wait for her next great character to walk through the door.

“I find inspiration by immersing myself in history and culture.”

Old Town, new ideas

Sian grew up in Australia, but lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden. Parts of the Scandinavian capital date back to the 13th century. When she needs to supercharge her inspiration, Sian often takes to the city’s medieval streets.

“I find it incredibly beautiful, especially walking around Old Town,” Sian says. “I love wandering the narrow streets and thinking about the millions of stories that those places hold.”