NEWS:
June 17, 2008 --
Sorry for the lack of updates. I just wanted to take the time to say thanks to everyone who's been reading my stories and leaving nice comments and criticisms. It's nice to know that someone out there enjoys reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. I'll try and update more as summer progresses.
I just graduated from college (whoo!), and I'm starting a job on Monday, but I'll have a lot of time - finally - to get around to working with my creative projects again, including some filming and a lot more writing. Hopefully I'll have something to show for it in the coming week.
And for now I've decided to hold off on the beta reading. I just haven't had much time to really put the effort into reading and editing, and I've had to ignore a lot of requests (if you're one of the people who've asked me to beta read for you lately, sorry!). So as of now I'm no longer accepting requests. Maybe later.
PS: Chapter two of Religious Coffee is up now. Thanks to those who have sent me feedback on it!
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
You can call me Will.
A narrative filmmaker and writer of prose fiction, I'm a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Film & Digital Media and a minor in Literature. There are a number of genres that I dabble in, including drama, noir, science fiction, horror, and (sometimes) romance. I tend to have a minimalist style that emphasizes details and surroundings in order to provoke an emotional response; the visual is critical
I've been on Fiction Press since it split from Fan Fiction dot Net in 2001. Like most other 'Internet writers' I started out writing fan fiction until I realized there was too much crap and not enough quality and that people were just ruining my favorite films and series by writing stupid stories. Since then I've stuck to writing original material.
My literary influences include Haruki Murakami, Neil Gaiman, Raymond Chandler, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King, to name a few. My film influences also include the works of Wong Kar-Wai, Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry, the Taiwanese New Cinema, and the French New Wave.
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. Still, this story 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 (w.t.) - 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 midsts of writing the fourth section of the story, and at the moment I'm not sure when it's going to end.
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.
FictionPress.com - let the words flow
