The Worst Story Ever Written

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 
Entry 02-03-2025

I look back before I started writing as my way of expression, and remember that passionate lecture of my literature teacher:

I'm going to go out there and just say it: The worst story ever written is the one you didn't write. Somewhere out there, there's going to be someone among the eight-something billion people in the world that will read your story and say, "wow, that's really good writing." Despite what you think, and despite what others might think, your writing affected someone. That is, if you had the drive to write it.

Tell me the truth, are you too afraid to write it because you know someone won't like it? Is it something that a lot of people won't like? Well, let me introduce you to the world of politics and the world of religion. Fervent and polarizing arguments aside, you don't hold a candle to the din of disdain that either one of those topics manages to garner, so what in the world are you waiting for?

So what if someone doesn't like it! So what if it's not grammatically perfect! It's you on a page, and "you" is exquisite. If it weren't for all the "yous" in the world we wouldn't have the masterpieces of Frankenstein, or A Tale of Two Cities. We wouldn't have those dreary yet beautiful places like The Fall of the House of Usher, or The Dunwich Horror. At some point all of those prolific artists probably said, 'I don't know how I'm going to get away with writing this,' but they did it anyway, and by God, I'm glad they did!

Remember this, all of you. Some of the best places on Earth are on a page, and that page's writer told themselves that it was the worst story ever written.

Word Count—300