[Daily 1000 Characters] Writer's Routine <9> - Cheon Seonran's 'Wandering Dreamer'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected according to daily and monthly themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. This excerpt is taken from Cheon Seon-ran's ＜The City Where Tigers Hide and the Wandering Dreamers＞ in the book ＜Writer's Routine: A Day Writing Novels＞, which talks about how young novelists live their daily lives and organize their minds before writing. The text contains 1,040 characters.

It would be ideal to devote an entire day solely to creation, but events are inevitable to sustain a writer's life. The income earned from external events helps with living expenses, and each event can attract readers who have not yet read my books. Through dozens of events, I realized that not everyone attending meetings with authors or lectures has read all my books. Events that I thought were meetings with readers after publication actually serve as opportunities to attract prospective (!) readers who have not yet read my books.

One thing I often hear at events is, "I haven't read your book yet, but after hearing you today, I want to read it. Next time, I'll definitely come having read it!" So, it is advantageous for a writer to hold many events in this regard. I tend to have both extroverted and introverted sides, so during events, I bring out my extroverted side to enjoy them fully, but after the event, I go home feeling drained like a dead battery. Sometimes, to focus all my energy on the event, I avoid talking to anyone before and after it. However, all deadlines are set without considering events, so even after spending all my energy on an event, I still write. Even if progress is slower than usual and I don't advance as much as I want, I at least sit at my desk. That day is a small event in my daily life that breaks the routine, so I feel the sensation of 'working' more vividly than usual. How happy it is to meet readers during the process of completing a story and share conversations about writing!

Creating stories remains an intensely personal desire, something I must vomit out because I cannot endure not writing, but when I witness someone accompanying me on my journey, my heart overflows. I want to express my gratitude, but sometimes I hesitate, fearing it might be a burden. I do not selfishly expect everyone to accompany me unconditionally on every journey. I will always sit here and weave stories, and I hope you travel freely elsewhere and drop by here occasionally when you think of me. That is how I feel.

- Cheon Seon-ran et al., ＜Writer's Routine: A Day Writing Novels＞, &(And), 15,000 KRW