Tall And True Short Reads

Season Four: Episode 97 (14 August 2024)

You Have Been Warned is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/you-have-been-warned

Listen to Episode 59 of Tall And True Short Reads, Once Upon A Time.

Not Quite Write Podcast and Prize website: https://notquitewritepodcast.com/

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story and microfiction collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Apple Books:     https://books.apple.com/us/author/robert-fairhead/id1436773436
• Rakuten Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Story Insight

I wrote You Have Been Warned for the Not Quite Write Prize, run by the Not Quite Write Podcast, in April 2024. Their brief for the competition was:

• Your story must contain the word DATE. The word must be used in full, with no spaces or interrupting punctuation. However, it may be included within a longer word.
• Your story must feature the action of “picking a winner”. You don’t need to use this exact wording, and you can feature the action prominently or simply as an aside. The action may occur before the beginning or after it ends as long as it’s referenced somewhere within your story.
• Your story must break the writing rule “always use said”. You can interpret this anti-prompt in whatever creative way you see fit.

Writers have 60 hours to craft a 500-word story from midday Friday of the Not Quite Write Prize weekend to midnight Sunday. Having brainstormed an idea on Friday, I set out on Saturday morning to write a story titled “What If?”. I wrote a solid opening paragraph and developed the story, ticking off the brief and writing 250-300 words by early Saturday afternoon.

But then I realised the story wouldn’t work. It was too much “raw” autofiction based on a tragic event I experienced in early April. So, I parked that story and started on You Have Been Warned, drawing from an idea I used in another short story about climate change I wrote for the Furious Fiction writing challenge in 2022, Once Upon A Time, Episode 59 of Tall And True Short Reads.

The two stories are different, but reading them side-by-side, you can tell they have the same “father”. Did you hear the required word and action in this story and notice how I broke the “always use said” rule?

I didn’t win or get short or long-listed for the April Not Quite Write Prize. But You Have Been Warned earned a special mention on the Not Quite Write podcast for being an engaging title, which made me proud!

I hope you enjoy listening to this story … and its message. You can read You Have Been Warned and my selected short stories, blog posts and other writing on TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story and microfiction collections from the Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo online bookstores — links are available in the show notes.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, please check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from all four seasons. And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite podcasting app — doing so helps share my storytelling.

You can support the podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please share this episode with family and friends and spread the word about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• TV Static: https://freesound.org/people/Kleber_KGF/sounds/354019/
• Gunfire: https://freesound.org/people/C-V/sounds/523404/
• Screaming Voices: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486179/
• Angry Voices: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486193/
• Car Horn: https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/684521/
• Bicycle Bell: https://freesound.org/people/altazor80/sounds/367744/
• Storm Wind: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/481139/
• Story Rain: https://freesound.org/people/2887679652/sounds/164921/
• Flood Waters: https://freesound.org/people/martialway47/sounds/258187/
• Desert Crickets: https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/641589/
• Fire: https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/483309/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity. Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.