Is the creative path a lonely one? It doesn’t have to be. Utsudo attended a Penana meetup in Taipei where 25 creators from different places and professions gathered. They often talked about harsh realities—books are hard to sell, submissions get rejected—yet everyone kept moving toward what they longed for, fully aware of how tough things are. In that atmosphere full of creative passion, she felt a sense of belonging, and realized that fulfilling yourself and letting your work be seen is even more romantic than sacrificing yourself for the world.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

The Penana Taipei meetup

I recently attended Penana’s Taipei meetup. Twenty-five people came—a fairly large yet very warm gathering—and about a third were new faces to me.

After we sat down for dinner and started chatting, I learned my tablemates were full of hidden talents, including two creators who both write and draw. One is an illustrator especially skilled at structures and mecha—amazing. I’m excited to see where they go.

Although everyone came from different places with their own interests and professions, I noticed one thing in common: we all love creating.

Moving forward despite knowing reality is harsh

Whenever creators gather, we always talk about rather negative things like “books are getting harder to sell,” “nobody reads what I write,” “my submission didn’t get through.” Yet I’ve never heard of anyone giving up writing because of it. Instead, they throw themselves in even more, willing to spend more time building their stories.

Everyone knows how cruel reality is, yet keeps striving toward what they long for. Thinking about it, they suddenly seem like loyal knights bravely drawing their swords against reality to protect the ideals in their hearts—there’s a heroic beauty to it.

Still, I hope the environment becomes friendlier to creators in the future, so more wonderful works can be seen.

A sense of belonging among creators

At every gathering, a few conversations are enough to feel everyone’s passion for creating. In that atmosphere, I feel more relaxed, because I sense “belonging”—a strange sense of reassurance from resonating with everyone.

It was a rare chance, so I talked more deeply with the people seated near me, wanting to know what they’re good at creating and what genres they write. Through that, I could glimpse their thoughts and hopes for this world.

In the worlds they create, each person is utterly unique—unlike the real world, which always homogenizes us. Society tries to sand down everyone’s unique traits just to fit them into the right work chain, becoming screws that keep the world turning.

Fulfilling yourself is romantic too

Sacrificing yourself to contribute to this vast world sounds romantic, but I believe that as creators, you’d rather have what makes you special be seen—even become a unique point of light that expresses yourself and perhaps lights the way for others.

I think “fulfilling yourself” is even more romantic than “devoting yourself to the world.”

I don’t know whether fulfilling yourself counts as “contributing” to the world, but I believe everyone here fighting for their dreams understands that feeling of “wanting to be seen” through their work.

I’m truly grateful to all of you who, knowing how rugged the creative path is, still bravely choose this road of trials. Learning at that gathering that so many people are working hard for their future and dreams gave me reassurance and more motivation to move forward.

I hope you’ll be with me on the road ahead.

And thanks to the admins who organized the meetup—you worked so hard! We had a great time!

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Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #196: Is Riding Trends Addictive?
• 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.