A Nice Time Despite the Terrifying Experience
Written by the students of 826LA's Summer Writers Workshop Program in Summer of 2024
Foreword by Davy Rothbart
When I was 10, a new school friend named Blair came to my house for a sleepover. After dinner, I asked what Atari game he wanted to play, and instead he suggested, “Hey, let’s write a story!” I was mystified; this sounded suspiciously like schoolwork. But we found pens and an old yellow pad and over the next few hours fell into shared creative bliss, writing a masterpiece we dubbed “Davy and Blair Fight the Alien Force.” A spark was lit, and I began writing more stories in the weeks and months to come, continuing on my own the following year even after Blair transferred to another school in a distant town.
Writing stories put me in the driver’s seat and allowed me to build worlds from the raw materials of my mind — goofy characters, spooky settings, emotional scenes, intricate plots. A tarantula named Herman explored the ocean deep with the help of his best friend, a submersible robot. Pickpocket elves helped foster a rebellion against a vengeful king. And sometimes the stories landed closer to home, rooted in my own life, acting as a kind of wish fulfillment: a timely home run; a ride on a dolphin’s back. What I remember more than the details of these stories is the feeling of writing them. A feeling of thoughtful Zen-like focus, the rush of crafting a sentence that sings, the joy of characters making choices that felt unexpected even to me. I was filled with a magical sense of wonder as the stories in my head took tangible shape.
I thought of these thrilling feelings as I absorbed the special book you’re holding in your hands — A Nice Time Despite the Terrifying Experience — a collection of stunning, sad, whimsical, and wondrous flash fiction by students in the marvelous 826LA writing program. In these sprightly pieces, teenage authors dazzled me again and again with soulful bursts of imagery, language, and story, building distinctive worlds of their own.
In Raven L.-S.’s “Through the Sanding of Years,” an aging college professor wrestles with the memories of a brother she may or may not have known. In Jonathan S.’s “Wedding,” a fumbled croissant stokes the flames of love. Geraldo R., Jimena M., and Miranda A. pen odes so brief and striking they rival the classic: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” And in Marlene T.’s titular story, “A Nice Time Despite the Terrifying Experience,” a trip back in time becomes a harrowing, if funny reminder of the ways that life’s greatest adventures can quickly go awry. These great pieces are joined by dozens of others, glittering like stars.
Yet as I read each piece, I couldn’t help but think of the writer writing it — a teenager with a focused look in their eye and an almost imperceptible smile on their face — discovering the joy of writing, and coming to understand their own superpower: a newfound ability to express their ideas and imaginations to strangers like you and me. It’s a startling and meaningful gift.
For many of these students, this book represents their first time becoming a published author. For all of them, I suspect, it won’t be the last.
—Davy Rothbart
Bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, creator of FOUND Magazine, and reporter for NPR’s This American Life