Is a writer’s life really romantic?Not really. Utsudo says most works are written through countless nights of writer’s block, locked away in a room, and then have to go through submission, waiting and publishing schedules. Those who can write full-time are either at the top of the pyramid or supported by a full-time or part-time job; she herself balances her expenses with translation and freelance work.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

The elegant writer’s life we imagine

　　When people think of a writer, they picture an elegant person sitting in a classy café with a laptop, taking a sip of coffee, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes typing — then effortlessly gathering their words into a book and living each day in comfort and leisure.

　　Whoever imagined that — let mesmash it！

　　Well, occasionally it does happen — though you have to buy something to sit in a café… And basically, people who love writing stories usually prefer to let their imaginations run wild in small, familiar spaces.

　　Trust me, the process of creating most works isn’t very glamorous. More likely the author made it through countless nights of writer’s block when they wanted to smash their laptop, locked in their room typing, scratching their feet or eating instant noodles.

　　(Oh, and I left out the time spent submitting, waiting for results and scheduling publication — and if the submission isn’t accepted, it’s game over)

Not many people can write full-time

　　Writers are human too. If money allows, we do sometimes change our surroundings to write for a change of mood. But if you’re tighter on cash, the most you get is a library study room — sometimes putting up with the visual distraction of people jiggling their legs and spinning pens, plus jerk couples on a date pretending to study… (ahem, I’m not a member of the “couples must die” club, hmph!

　　Usually the people who can write full-time are either at the top of the pyramid, or burning themselves up for an ideal, living on air… or else they have a full-time or part-time job to cover their living. I’m trying to take the middle path: using other skills (translation, freelance work) to cover my minimum expenses, gaining more freedom and creating value.

My little habits for writing in cafés

　　And a café isn’t always a good choice, because sometimes you run into a whole group of super loud people, or a café blasting music.

　　If there are too few people in the café, that’s a bit of pressure for me too. The ideal is a weekday with just a handful of customers — that’s when my output is highest XD 

　　Sometimes I secretly observe the people in the shop, which is kind of fun too — imagining their lives, their troubles and worries. Sometimes they naturally become characters in my writing, or part of a story.

　　I love that feeling of blending life into creation. Sometimes an out-of-the-blue inspiration really livens up the story — within reason, of course. Go too far and it creates dissonance —and everyone will wonder whether you were on something when you wrote that part(X 

　　At cafés I basically don’t order coffee, because if I drink coffee after noon, I’ll be wide awake all night until dawn, eyes shining like headlights.

 　　So my friends often tease me: you go to cafés and order decaf drinks — are you there to enjoy the air conditioning and work as a paid extra? How rude, I can at least order black tea, since there’s a minimum charge… otherwise I’d want free air conditioning too (beep—) 

　　Actually, in the town where I live, cafés are either too small, too crowded or very far away… (I can’t ride a scooter yet — I’m learning). Honestly, only when I’m in another city can I find an ideal café to write in QQ

　　Otherwise cafés really are efficient — I can easily write ten thousand characters a day XD　　

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #16 (in Chinese)
• Next: #18 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

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