12+   Episode 99 (17 September 2024): I'm getting too old for this. My speechwriter's pulse quickens as the PM mounts the flag-decked stage, flanked by senior ministers and mining industry executives, to announce her government's green coal plan. Panned by environmentalists and scientists, polling suggests it could be a vote winner … if the PM nails my speech.

Listen now on Acast

I wrote My Speech for the Australian Writers' Centre's monthly Furious Fiction writing challenge in September 2023. The brief was:

• The story must start and end with the same sentence
• Feature something being inflated
• And include the words FLAG, FLAME, FLASH, and FLATTER. (Longer versions were okay if they retained the original spelling.)

Please note: There are spoilers in the story insight below.

Ticking off the Brief

The first (and last!) sentence, "I'm getting too old for this", popped into my head immediately.

As for something being "inflated", I thought of egos, especially after settling on my characters on the stage: the PM, her senior ministers and the mining industry executives. But the "state-sponsored blank cheque to dig more mines and inflate company profits and executive bonuses" suited the story better.

A flag-decked stage for the speech, the flames of climate change, a flash of inspiration and the ministers and mining company executives flattering the PM had me ticking off the rest of the brief.

Culling My Darlings

I had my plot and characters and had met the brief. However, I sailed past the Furious Fiction 500-word limit and had to cull my darlings to reign in the story. But as I commented on social media during the weekend, writing too many words is better than staring at a blank page!

I drew on several pieces of autofiction for the story: I loved Enid Blyton's Famous Five series and wrote a Blytonesque adventure story as a ten-year-old, Sand Island, the tale of which I narrate in Episode 90 of Tall And True Short Reads, A Good Story.

And ever since then, like my speechwriter, I've felt I have a bestselling novel building inside me.

Furious Fiction Showcase

I enjoyed my furious weekend of writing and was proud when I submitted My Speech to the Writers' Centre late on Sunday evening. And I was thrilled to find it featured in the Furious Fiction Showcase for September and to read the judge's thoughts:

Wonderfully observed with a clever framework built around a PM’s speech, the real action happens backstage with our speechwriter (the real heroes of any politician’s profile – yes, even Obama had people writing his words). As jaded as the green coal being proffered onstage, this writer reminisces on how they got here and the kind of writing that actually inspires them. The intermittent snippets of the campaign speech interplay beautifully with the narrator’s growing dissatisfaction – each building to a climax of sorts. The "too old for this" line was made most famous by Danny Glover in the 1980s Lethal Weapon movies, but here it feels equally memorable – instantly relatable for anyone who has ever written words for others!

Interestingly, I've not watched any of the Lethal Weapon movies, so I haven't heard Danny Glover say my opening and closing lines. But I'm sure those of us of a certain age have uttered or thought it at least once or twice!

Another Milestone Episode

I hope you enjoy listening to My Speech on the Acast player (above) and that it doesn't leave you "as jaded as the PM's green coal". The episode is also available on the podcast website, and all popular podcasting apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. You can read My Speech and my blog posts, selected short stories, and other writings on Tall And True. 

You can also buy my short story and microfiction collections from the Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads, the milestone Episode 100, will be released shortly. In the meantime, search your feed or the podcast website, TallAndTrueShortReads.com, 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 other listeners find my storytelling.

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

© 2024 Robert Fairhead

N.B. You might also like this post from September 2023 introducing Tall And True Short Reads - Season Four.