What should you keep in mind when writing a novel for film and TV adaptation? After joining an agency, Utsudo began learning to write “commercial works that can be adapted for the screen.” Her key notes: rely less on inner thoughts to drive the plot, and use external events like dialogue and action instead, so scenes can actually be filmed; the story needs a high concept, and character setups need push-and-pull and conflict so the plot isn’t flat. To judge whether a concept is good, imagine starting to write it and see whether more plot naturally branches out in your mind.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

The thrill of writing my first story

I think back to long ago, when I first wrote down the story in my heart.

I was so thrilled—how could there be something this fun in the world? Turning the stories and characters I imagined into something “real,” even becoming a character in the story, going through so many fun adventures, meeting so many interesting people, even having a love that lasts until death—how exciting!

Back then, I didn’t need to care about commercial considerations like “Does this story have potential?”, “Is this story interesting?” or “Are the first three chapters gripping?” I just wrote stories I found fun, without worrying about being shot down by readers or editors, because back then my stories were mine to call.

Facing the final boss: commercial appeal

But then I submitted a manuscript and was lucky enough to have it accepted, and I began facing the final boss called “commercial appeal.”

So I spent a lot of time and energy refining my work with editors, learning so-called “market tastes” and “crowd-pleasing formulas.” Through rejection after rejection and baptisms of harsh criticism, clumsy me gradually got the hang of it, and went on to publish nearly forty commercial books in print.

But among them were my experimental works. They may not have been commercial, but they were masterpieces in my heart. Unsurprisingly, these works weren’t easy to commercialize, which is a bit of a regret.

So I have a wish: someday, when I get to call the shots, I want to properly finish the works that were rejected for not being commercial enough. My works are my beloved children. They may not be perfect, but I’ll still cherish everything about them.

I wouldn’t dare claim to understand the vast, profound field of fiction, but I should still have some experience to share with newcomers.

From commercial to screen-ready commercial

However, after I joined my agency, what they wanted was “commercial works that can be adapted for the screen.” That’s new territory for me. A few of my works might pass by lucky accident, but most of them are actually better suited to manga adaptation than film or TV. So learning to write “screen-adaptable commercial works” is another hard road.

As for turning “commercial” work into “screen-ready commercial” work, I have some rough suggestions for now.

Drive the plot with external events

First, the writing itself. Many authors use “inner thoughts” to drive the plot—for example, a character thinks it over and realizes they like someone, or after a series of judgments and reasoning decides a certain action would be best. That’s actually a bit hard to adapt, so I suggest driving the plot through “action.”

For instance, someone lets something slip, and that’s how the protagonist learns someone likes them. Or the character unravels things through action—running experiments, asking around for information—and finally finds the key that helps them take the next step.

High concept and push-and-pull between characters

The story also needs a high concept, and the plot and character setups need push-and-pull, so the story doesn’t become flat and lack tension. For example, if you’re writing a romance, a very common setup pairs a top student with a struggling one. Two completely different positions naturally generate stories and plot.

If both are top students, you may need to create a different kind of conflict. Otherwise, two people with the same interests and similar family backgrounds naturally falling in love in the same club—unless the focus is different or there are other highlights—you can almost picture how bland that story would be.

How do you judge whether a story concept is good?

So how can you tell whether your current story concept is good?

An editor once told me how to judge whether a story is a good concept: imagine starting to write it and see whether more stories branch out in your mind. If so, it’s a good concept; if not, you might want to switch to a better one.

However, some concept elements may already be locked in from when you started writing the novel. If the finished work doesn’t match the direction they want, adjusting it will inevitably be a major revision project—and even after revising, it may not match what they want. Rather than that, it’s faster to just write the next one (whispers).

Plus, major revisions are really exhausting. Frankly, I don’t like them much. It’s not that I can’t revise—the main thing is getting over the mental hurdle. Forcing myself to face it really isn’t easy QQ

If possible, I’d rather develop a new work with them from scratch and write something new. Emotionally, that’s easier for me to accept. I wonder if I’m just being willful, or whether every creator feels the same way?

Anyway, I’ll try both approaches and then share my experience with you.

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #235: Good People Get Scammed While Crooks Walk Free
• 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.