What advantages do new novelists have? Veterans have the edge in technique, popularity and exposure, but the longer they’re in the business, the more easily they’re boxed in by their own “framework,” making innovation hard. Newcomers find every step harder and lack connections, but with no framework, they can show all kinds of possibilities—so their work is more likely to break out. Utsudo advises new writers not to squeeze themselves into a framework too soon or rush to become famous, and to enjoy the time when they can write whatever they want.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

The privileges of veterans

I’ve been writing novels for quite a while. People might think that as a veteran novelist, I can not only come up with a book quickly but also know all kinds of techniques, so I can easily compose a book, and with my connections, get it picked up and published faster.

And since I’ve been at this for some time, I have some popularity, my works sell better, and initial exposure is higher, and so on.

Yes, these are all veteran privileges. So do newcomers have no chance?

I believe the answer is no—they do.

Frameworks: the longer you’re in, the harder to escape

As a newcomer, you have to put in extra effort to explore many things, and without connections you may hit walls everywhere. But I think newcomers also have some things veterans can’t match.

Take the “framework,” for example. Usually, the longer you’re in the business, the more deeply rooted it becomes. Frameworks are tricky. Building a standard procedure for handling something is how the brain works—it makes you more familiar, faster and more efficient with similar tasks. But by the same token, breaking through its limits becomes hard.

Because your brain is used to working that way, no matter how you circle around, you can’t escape its grip.

In other words, it’s hard to innovate.

For veterans, the upside is that the framework lets them finish a book quickly. The downside is that unless they deliberately break out of it, readers may notice habitual patterns in their work—plots, characters, pacing and so on all start to look a bit alike.

The newcomer’s advantage: no framework

Newcomers, on the other hand, may find every part a bit harder, but free from the limits of a framework, they can show all kinds of possibilities.

I think that’s the main reason newcomers’ works are more likely to break out than veterans’.

I think this is the most valuable thing about being new. As your years in the field add up, you gradually form a framework, and your thinking becomes more and more rigid, making it hard to stretch beyond it. In creative industries, that’s not a good thing.

So I think newcomers shouldn’t squeeze themselves into a framework too quickly. Unless you’re the kind of person who needs all the rules laid out first to create with peace of mind, I really don’t recommend that people who’ve barely written a novel start by studying novel-writing guides or signing up for courses. Instead, let yourself write freely, unleash what’s inside, see what sparks fly, and boldly show the world how you’re different.

Don’t rush—enjoy the joy of creating

As a newcomer, there’s no need to hurry. Don’t rush to become famous or to be seen quickly.

Right now you should savor the joy of creating, because as time passes, that impulse gradually fades into something deeper and steadier. You’ll run into fewer problems, but it’ll be hard to recall that passion of wanting to write with everything you’ve got.

I really feel that the time when I had boundless drive and could write whatever I wanted was the happiest and least limited. That feeling that the future was full of light and hope, that any dream could come true, was wonderful—and I can hardly feel it anymore.

Every stage has its own beauty. Whether you’re a veteran or a newcomer, writing is a lifelong journey—take it slow!

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Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #225: Is Local Taiwanese Fiction Really Doomed?
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• 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.