I would hardly call myself a “film nerd.” In fact, counting on the amount of books I’ve read, I don’t even qualify as a nerd. Growing up in a sports family and having been a professional badminton player for ten years, I often feel not nerdy enough and not artistic enough to be a writer. I don’t fulfill any stereotypes you can think of for a writer. But, growing up I knew that, I had too many things in my head that I needed a medium to spit it out. Tying on the keyboard just happened to be the easiest skill my clumsy fingers could acquire to complete the task for my brain.  

 

As an undergrad in film school, I soon realized that I’m not a visual person. I fall in love with films with the dialogue I can’t forget. I listen to the lyrics of my favorite songs. I read books more than I watch movies. Words and sentences carry a unique weight for me. My job as a writer is to seek innovation within a lack of freedom in the frame of text. I also love to listen to people talk, whether it’s an interview, a stand-up comedy routine, or a casual conversation with family or friends. Human conversation is one of my most treasured sources of inspiration. 

 

“Write about what you know” has been my guiding principle in writing. My scripts always started with a very personal approach based on my experience, struggles, and confusion. I’ve written a coming-of-age sports drama, a sci-fi YA romance, a psychological thriller with two female protagonists, a road trip coming-of-ago centered on sexual harassment, and an experimental family drama about a story between a Grandma and her granddaughter who died by suicide. I have a fear of writing stories with the purpose of representing something, whether it’s a community, a culture, a gender, a generation, or even a perspective. I used to try removing these elements, thinking it would make my story more universal. But I was wrong. I once told a professor that I didn’t want to specify the race of my character. He reminded me that there are many talented Asian actors in the industry waiting for screenplays written just for them. Other people might not write stories for them, but I can—and I have an authentic voice in those stories. Before hearing those words, I had never considered the value of my story beyond my individual fulfillment. 

 

I began writing with a selfish purpose: to know myself, to find myself, to ask questions, to express feelings I don’t dare to show in real life. Transitioning from a professional athlete to a writer, I’ve felt caught between both identities, trying to deny a part of me to embrace the other part more entirely. But the more stories I write, the more I see a new possibility—the story and characters I create provide a place for my in-betweenness. I learned to embrace my conflicting identities. Coming from a sports background doesn’t mean I can’t pursue a writing career; growing up speaking Chinese doesn’t mean I can’t tell stories without my mother tongue.

 

Now, I can confidently say that I’m a writer and will likely be writing for the rest of my life. I write about people coming of age, about feelings, connections, memories, time, and space. I ask questions about humanity, beliefs, and the meaning of existence. I give voice to indescribable emotions, unspeakable traumas, and untold truth. My stories are often sad but never despair. I still don’t write with a goal to represent, but I believe my audience can always catch glimpses of themselves in the stories I tell.