50 Years, 50 Words, 50 Stories

How do you write a love letter to Singapore when you only have 50 words? Reviews Editor Jared Alex Tan sits down with Andre Yeo, Assistant Editor of The New Paper, to discuss his new book, Home: 50 50-word stories to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday.

Different people have different ways of commemorating Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence — some write songs, others stage plays, and there are those who carve numbers into fish cakes.

As for journalist Andre Yeo, 43, he decided to honour his country by doing what he does best: write. Inspired by the book The World’s Shortest Stories by Steve Moss, Mr Yeo — who is an assistant editor at The New Paper — took it upon himself to write a book titled Home: 50 50-word stories to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday.

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
As the name suggests, Home is a collection of fifty 50-word stories that capture the essence of what it means to be Singaporean. From crowded MRT trains to fighting the haze, the book features a range of uniquely Singaporean experiences that anyone living in the country would be able to identify with.

While Mr Yeo always envisioned his book to be released in conjunction with Singapore’s 50th birthday, he had already conceived the concept of a self-imposed word limit more than two years ago in 2013.

It would take him nine months to write the 50 stories. With a full-time job and a family to raise, Mr Yeo would often start writing only at 10pm after his children had gone to bed, and would sometimes carry on till 2am the next morning.

After he finished writing, Mr Yeo faced a more practical problem in the form of finding a publisher. As a first-time author, book publishers were not willing to take a chance on him, though he admits that the rejection only spurred him on further.

Without much success five months later, Mr Yeo decided to fund the book through his own means. He coughed up a five-figure sum from his personal savings, and with the help of numerous contacts that he had accumulated over the course of his career, finally managed to release Home in September 2014.

HARD TRUTHS
While many of the 50 stories featured in Home are a celebration of Singapore’s culture, Mr Yeo did not hesitate to explore some of the less glamorous sides of the country as well.

With stories that discuss hot-button issues such as underage sex scandals and the 2013 Little India riots, his intention was to capture both the good and bad aspects of the nation, acknowledging that no country is without its faults.

“I’m proud of my country, but if I were to pretend that Singapore was perfect, I would not be truthful with myself, and people would not be able to relate to the stories if they feel that they weren’t truthful and honest.”

As his day job involves supervising the crime team at The New Paper, Mr Yeo also admits that managing a desk of such a nature had a certain degree of influence on the way he approached his stories, leading to stories written from a more character-driven perspective.

“In the stories that we feature (in The New Paper), we always focus on the individual.” he said. “It’s fascinating to read about why people do the things they do, and I try to bring that out in my stories.”

A LABOUR OF LOVE
While he admits that Home was written to realise his dream of being a published author, Mr Yeo emphasised that the book goes beyond just himself.

Two chapters, for example, are dedicated to his parents — his way of telling them how much he loves them, and appreciates everything they had done for him.

Furthermore, Mr Yeo also says that Home was written to inspire his four children. Having seen firsthand the effort their father put in to reach his goals, Mr Yeo hopes that the book will be a source of motivation for them.

“They know how difficult it was for me, they know I had challenges and obstacles. But to physically see the book in bookstores, I hope it will inspire them to not give up in whatever they do.”

And as for everyone else who picks up his book, Mr Yeo will be satisfied even if it connects with just one person.

“I have no way of knowing how my stories will affect people. I will die not knowing how my stories inspire them, but that’s fine — so long as it inspires someone, that’s good enough for me.”

Home: 50 50-word stories to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday is available at Books Kinokuniya, Times, MPH, Popular and Cat Socrates for $15.90. The book is also available online at www.naiise.com.