Inez Tan Xue-Ting: Portfolio

I create insightful copywriting and social media marketing with a heart for storytelling.

LinkedIn | ineztanauthor@gmail.com

Crazy Rich Asians” isn’t Pride and Prejudice – it’s the Kardashians

Medium

“Fortunately, the Kardashians have never been said, or asked, to represent an entire country and all Americans, even those who ‘look like them.’ But imagine that the Kardashians are going to be millions of people’s first exposure to your country and your people, and you can understand why some Singaporeans are so riled up.”

Poetry is what gets made in translation

Asian Books

“Translation, then, is also a way we draw on our whole selves – every part of who we are and what we know – in order to write from that entirety.”

Writing before and after a pandemic

Centre for Stories

“I think becoming a writer means asking yourself again and again why you write, how to keep coming up with new ideas, how to trust yourself more, and how to keep falling in love with writing.”

Dominic’s Disappearance (adventure, boarding school, romance)

To search for her beloved brother Dominic, Sandra must enroll in the prestigious Gillikin Academy… disguised as a young gentleman.

The Moravia Express (thriller, psychological horror, time travel)

A luxury train ride turns into a nightmare. What secrets are the passengers hiding, and will Bianca uncover the mystery in time?

The Apothecary (fantasy, adventure, humor)

In order to save her shop, apothecary Emelia Farrow accepts an impossible commission. She’ll have to create a potion no one has ever made before – while trouble brews all around…

Eternal Summer of My Homeland by Agnes Chew
National bestseller, Epigram Books

Richly atmospheric, Eternal Summer of My Homeland hums with buried grief and secret wonder. Moment by moment, Chew deftly interweaves these keenly observed portraits of Singapore with the luminous interiors of her characters’ hearts. This is a collection to savour.

Short form copy: book jacket copy

This Is Where I Won’t Be Alone by Inez Tan
National bestseller, Epigram Books

A pair of twins tries desperately to survive their education. A sentient oyster ponders the concept of making time. An unemployed man devises a social experiment with ants. A runaway sees a vision. From the 1990s to a future where people access information through chips implanted in their heads, from the Singaporean heartland to London, San Francisco and the moon, these stories hold in tension the strangeness of displacement and a deep yearning for connection in their relentless search for who and what to call home.

Slide deck presentation: Creative writing class at the National University of Singapore

This class was taught remotely during the Covid pandemic. (Slide template from SlidesCarnival.)

Slogans and app store text for mobile phone game Yeager: Hunter Legend

As the Beasts’ dark shadows fall across the galaxy, you must embrace your destiny as a hunter to survive.

Journey through a mysterious world to hunt legendary Beasts!

Team up with your friends to hunt beasts and uncover an alien planet’s secrets!

Yeager is a 3D action role-playing monster hunting game set in an alien world.

You take on the role of Yeager, an elite Vyderan hunter sent to retrieve a priceless stolen relic. Your mission will take you around the mysterious Planet Ekors, a world of deadly creatures and dark secrets. Hunt ferocious beasts and encounter alien civilizations as you uncover the hidden secrets of the Vyderan clan—and the Empire itself.

Yeager’s intuitive, action-oriented combat system allows you to choose from five powerful weapon classes: Hunting Sword, Force Hammer, Fury Blades, Flux Blaster, and Eidolon Spear. Master each weapon’s class signature moves to engage fearsome creatures up close, weaken them with special combos, and move in for the kill.

Hunt Beasts for materials rich in Kallar, the powerful essence of your ancestors, to forge and upgrade your equipment. Rare equipment forged with Kallar-infused Beast Parts will even gain the appearance and traits of the Beasts themselves.

Equip Ancient Seals—mysterious artifacts infused with Kallar and the rich hunting experience of your ancestors—to gain legendary hunting prowess.

Install Sigils on your Kallar Arm to boost your physical aptitude and unlock new skills.

Choose the Weapon School that fits your playstyle. Each Weapon School grants you unique movesets and abilities, allowing you to customize your build from a huge variety of options.

Navigate through vast forests and winding canyons while discovering the many secrets hidden on Ekors—but beware the monsters snapping at your heels! Pit your skills against deadly enemies with unique combat abilities!

Immerse yourself in the hunt with breathtakingly realistic action and next-generation cinematics powered by cutting-edge motion capture technology.

Creative writing workshop synopsis (Raffles Institution)

Fight, Flight, or Write: Fiction as a Fear Response
In the face of danger, creatures typically react by going into one of the following modes: fight, flight, or freeze. But as human beings, one more way we can respond to present or perceived threats is to tell stories. In this workshop, participants will explore why societies tell certain stories about our past and future, and what we fear will happen if we don’t. Additionally, after reading and discussing the short story “St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” by Karen Russell (no prior knowledge required), participants will craft a short prose piece based on the story’s approach and themes.

Transcreation: Poetry

投我以木桃,
报之以琼瑶。
匪报也,
永以为好也。
A peach you gave,
I gift white jade.
A token of affection,
not a debt repaid.

Transcreation: Musical live-action game trailer for Time Princess

Marie Antoinette rap:

我是来自奥地利的玛丽
This is Austria’s Marie
凡尔赛宫最甜蜜的honey
Versailles’ sweetest honey
嫁给了善良的Louis
I married the XVIth King Louis
我今天来到这里是为了将你beated
And today I’m here to drop the beat

嘘 听我说
Hush, y’all listen to me
十四岁我就成为法国太子妃
I became Dauphine at age fourteen
音乐天才Mozart他都倾慕我的美
Fairest sight Mozart had ever seen
我不过在舞会转了个慵懒的圈
When I dance at the ball
就有人快给我奉上了成堆的钱
I make diamonds* fall (*Diamonds are in-game currency)
可怜 我生来就在金字塔尖 我不懂到底什么叫做世道艰险
What a pity I was born a royal
I’ll never know the meaning of hardship and toil
啊以天真粉饰蛋糕的甜
My naivety is the icing on the cake
啊用眼神联结痴妄的缘
A look from me will change any fool’s fate

沉溺在我的指尖
Charmed by my fingertips
沉醉在我的唇边
Drunk on my carmine lips
陪我在天堂留连
Stay with me in heaven
将我装点用波旁祭献
And revere me with bourbon

(念白)(dialog)
想和我比?哈哈,宝贝,你连我的项链都买不起
You wanna mess with me? Hah, you can’t even afford my necklace, baby

(唱)(singing)
玛丽:身体为金银堆砌 灵魂永堕欢愉
Marie: Me and the king, we live for the bling
High in Versailles we don’t see the masses suffering

武则天:独立于权利之极 孤峰之巅我睥睨
Wu Zetian: My power is absolute but so is my solitude
I’m standing alone, I can’t breathe at this altitude

玛丽:浮士德的孤寂 是否值得换取
Marie: Can you gain the world
but lose the principal?

武则天:为人所惧的无敌 是否所向披靡
Wu: Does being feared
make one invincible?

玛丽:玩具一般的躯体 漫无目的
Marie: I’m just a puppet with broken strings

武则天:修罗一般的威仪 心有罅隙
Wu: My heart’s a caged bird that never sings

玛丽: 我太懵懂
Marie: People rejected me

武则天:我好惶恐
Wu: No one protected me

合唱:谁曾真正予我过尊重
Both: Who has ever truly respected me?