In the early days of Taiwan film many of the major screenwriters were, like Chang Yung-hsiang, originally writers of Chinese opera, whereas the most prolific screenwriter of the current era is Wu Nien-chen, a novelist.
台灣電影早期重要的編劇，如張永祥是舞台劇作家出身；新電影時期最多產的編劇吳念真則是小說獎得主。