Kinda glad that it received encouraging response on facebook.
I don't know why I felt compelled to write a story about a merlion - actually, i was compelled to write a series of stories about merlions and mertigers. Sometimes, story ideas just come to me, to make me feel guilty that I haven't been writing enough/fast enough... or worse, project ideas - a series of mer-things stories. gee. How to have enough arapaimas to go around?
I wrote this story over 2 days. The first draft, on the Friday evening, in a sleepy stupor. I got bored by the predictable plot towards the end - I knew it was going to be about merlions all along - and that's why part II's tone turned dramatically into quirkier, reckless-er. On day 2, I polished up the stories here and there, and decided to cut it into 2 parts - for it's length, and tonal change.
This story, in turn, made me think about how I prefer to write. I used to be a lot more random and abstract - not bothering to paint the picture or set for my readers - thinking that i didn't care if they had the same/similar idea as mine as I intended. Recently (in the past year), I've researched more about writing, and read more (like 2 more books), and i must conclude that, as a reader, I prefer the more descriptive style of Vonnegut or Akutagawa over the mystical Murakami and avante-garde-to-the-point-I-don't-really-know-what-he's-talking-about Andre Breton (Nadja).
So, should I write with more consideration and kindness to the reader? But my random disregard for details creates fireworks in underpants of spiffy magistrates which amuses me too intensely to care what anyone else thinks.
I am afraid that the unfortunate answer for my dilemma is a predictable need to balance both concerns - to draft when I'm daft drunk, and edit when I'm sobbingly sober.
Anyway, the below featured are araipaimas and I am a great fan of all monster fish.
