Lee has published two novels across more than two decades, and the advice she gives fits that pace. It's about protecting your attention and giving yourself the right to write in the first place.
Choose the Important Over the Urgent
The best advice Lee says she ever got was to choose the important over the urgent. The logic is that almost everything screaming for attention today turns out not to matter much, while the work that lasts tends to sit quietly and wait. She's pointed to her own pace as proof, having published two novels across twenty-two years by guarding time for craft and theme instead of whatever felt pressing that week. She's described how much noise and static there is to push through, and how much effort it takes to listen for what actually holds lasting value.
Give Yourself Permission to Write
For people who haven't started yet, Lee says the first task is permission. She's noticed that many would-be writers don't feel entitled to tell their story, and when they hold back, readers lose the widest possible range of voices. Her fix is blunt.
Give yourself permission to write. This is harder than you'd think, because so many people don't feel entitled to tell their story.
Min Jin Lee, Hachette Book Group
She pairs that with a caution about chasing trends. Write what you care about intensely, she advises, rather than what you think the market wants, because deep caring is what carries a writer through years of revision. Her own process starts with what troubles or perplexes her, and then she builds scenes to externalize the question. She also insists on reading widely and deeply, since she doesn't believe you can develop a style without reading your betters. For how the advice shows up in her working day, see the full Min Jin Lee writing routine.
What You Can Steal
- Guard time for what lasts. Say no to urgent noise so you can do the important work.
- Give yourself permission first. You're allowed to tell your story before anyone hands you the right.
- Write from obsession. Pick subjects that trouble you, since that's what survives a long project.
- Read your betters. Lee says wide, deep reading is how you build a style of your own.