NEWS:
November 1, 2009 --

I've been on a lengthy hiatus (yet again). Working on refining a few things with not only my fiction but my other writing as well. Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll start to produce a steady stream of content for Fiction Press as well as my other sites. Until then, just know I'm still here with a pen in my hands.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

You can call me Will.

I graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Film & Digital Media and a minor in Literature, and I consider myself an amateur writer and filmmaker. I dabble in a number of different genres including drama, noir, science fiction, horror, and romance, and I tend to have a minimalist style that emphasizes details and visuals rather than dialogue.

My influences include surrealist authors like Haruki Murakami and Neil Gaiman, hard-boiled pioneer Raymond Chandler, and pop culture icons Michael Crichton (RIP) and Stephen King. I'm also influenced by the highly romantic films of Wong Kar-Wai, Wes Anderson's dark comedies, and the objectivity of the Taiwanese New Cinema directors.

FICTION PRESS WORKS:

Short Stories --
1. The World of Dreams - An older story I wrote back in high school, after a long night of really weird dreams inspired mostly by H.P. Lovecraft. This was an experiment in first-person narrative, something which until recently I had never really used or liked. This is a classic for me.

2. The Story of August 15th - Semi-fictional. All I can say is that it was a weird day.

3. A Two-Hour Train Ride - Written while actually on a train. During 2004-2005 I took train rides a lot because my then-girlfriend lived somewhat far away and I had no other way of getting to her place. That day I was also extremely tapped for energy and needed a cup of coffee or a Red Bull, thus becoming the inspiration for this story.

4. Metropolitan Mirage - The first of three shorts I wrote for a photography/fiction blog in 2006. The story was inspired by a picture of an empty balcony at the Sony Metreon which overlooked Moscone Park.

5. 2:10 - Third and final story from the aforementioned blog in 2006. In order to shake things up I decided on writing this from a female perspective, and as usual decided to throw in a bit about a troubled relationship. The story was inspired by a picture of the Ferry Building's clock tower, which is not stuck at 2:10.

Verdant Heights --
The Verdant Heights project is my attempt at fusing all the elements of my original fiction ideas into a single mythos. It essentially focuses on the fictional northern California city of Verdant Heights and revolves around a growing pool of characters based either on specific people or fictional characters I've already created. In the future I want to collaborate with others on this project, which will consist of various types of media including prose fiction, films, and graphic novels.

1. Religious Coffee - The first real short story to come out of the project, which helps to introduce some important characters and one of the main settings of the town. I'm currently in the midst of writing the fourth section of the story, and at the moment I'm not sure when it's going to end.

2. The Case of Riley Toews - Part of a series of short stories which highlight specific characters living in Verdant Heights, and focuses on the unique problems of each person. This character was inspired mostly by Riley Mason, a former pornstar.

Novellas --
1. Devil in a Red Dress - The first part of 'The Binding Trilogy', a western series inspired by Sergio Leone's 'The Man with No Name' trilogy. Originally based on a dream I had about three women having a shootout in the middle of a desert. The series is currently being revised and the chapters already uploaded are being rewritten and will be replaced in the near future.

Will Chang is Dead --
My novel-in-progress, which is part autobiographical. Alternating between realist fiction - in conjunction with my 'Verdant Heights' project - and a hard-boiled noir story reminiscent of the writings of Raymond Chandler, the novel tells the story of a complicated love life, and the memories and bitter feelings that remain long after.

1. You Think You Can Love Me Then Leave Me To Die? - One of the hard-boiled chapters, and the first completed chapter of the novel. I'm trying to decide where to place it, but it'll come relatively early on.

Essays --
Being a college graduate, I've written quite a large volume of essays. Naturally, I won't be posting many of them, but some of the ones I actually put a ton of thought and detail into I might consider uploading.

1. "Yin and Yang" - The first essay I ever wrote for college, detailing some of my thoughts and experiences on multiculturalism and reverse racism in San Francisco public schools. Eventually I want to add a second part to this, looking back on my college experiences since then.

Poetry --
1. The City - A collection of prose poems dedicated to my hometown of San Francisco. I wrote these for a creative writing class in college because I needed to turn a few pages' worth of poetry for my final portfolio, and my professor was big on prose poems, so I gave it a shot.