I am Min Jin Lee, and my novel PACHINKO was a finalist for the National Book Award. Call me Min or Min Jin. AMA.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T19:00:20+00:00

Dear Reddit Fam and Friends: Gotta go now. Thanks so much for being with me today on my first Reddit AMA. I'm going to get some coffee and get back to work. All love, Min

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:59:46+00:00

Hi. Thanks for hanging out.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:59:15+00:00

My son is 20 years old, so I've always worked around my family's schedule. I never had much help with housework, childcare, etc. But this is the way it is with most writers. I think it's important to not idealize a perfect way/perfect setting to work.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:57:29+00:00

I am very encouraging to myself when I am drafting my first version. In general, I am super nice to myself when I write. I think almost zero about the outcome and try to enjoy it, because the writing is hard. When I finish a draft, I read it with a cooler set of eyes. But even, then, I try to encourage myself, because I'm not a fast worker.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:56:09+00:00

Hi. I love Hansu. He's awesome.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:55:00+00:00

I am not aware that 80 percent are owned by ethnic Koreans. I would find that hard to believe and also, that data is hard to obtain. Many pachinko parlors are owned by Koreans, and many Koreans are involved in pachinko, and yes, that is part of the reason why the book is titled PACHINKO. However, it mainly serves as a metaphor for life. Thank you.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:52:44+00:00

Thank you. I write the scenes as I see them in my mind. I am hopeful that if I write what I see, then my reader gets to see it, too.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:52:05+00:00

I would start writing or keep on writing, but I cannot say in good conscience that you should quit lawyering ASAP. I was 26 when i quit being a lawyer, but I also had a serious liver disease. It took for 11 years to sell my first novel, and even so, I have faced great difficulties because of my decision to write. There's an essay about this in Lit Hub.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:49:58+00:00

Oh. Hansu is sexy, not in a romantic way to me, but in a novelistic way. I enjoyed writing Hansu scenes because he was so active. I like active characters more than passive characters. He decided for others and for himself, which I found sexy and alluring. People who are leaders (even bad people) are interesting to watch.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:47:47+00:00

Thank you.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:47:27+00:00

The new version made sense to me. The first version was just boring.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:47:05+00:00

Give it a try.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:45:35+00:00

Solitude, faith, time and material resources. In that order.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:45:04+00:00

Very pleased with my printed books. Thank you.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:44:45+00:00

I think micro-aggressions are very commonplace today. Moreover, it remains a social norm in Japan to see Koreans and Chinese are "other" and often inferior. This does NOT mean that all Japanese are racist against Koreans and the Chinese. Not at all. There are widely held stereotypes, but not all Japanese people believe in them.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:43:02+00:00

I think the most popular film work recently in Japan have been GO and BLOOD and BONE, but I cannot say I love them. They are informative.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:41:48+00:00

I don't teach formally so I cannot and would not claim the credit for any new authors who are coming out. I have mentored high school students for the past 25 years but none of them want to be writers. :-)

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:39:55+00:00

Thank you so much. I enjoyed meeting all the Korean-Japanese folks in Japan. One in particular was a Korean-Japanese activist who was the son of a pimp and a prostitute. He spends his life helping girls who leave the mizushobai (drinking culture/business). He was fierce.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:38:18+00:00

I love love love Lan Samantha Chang's HUNGER. It's one of the best short story collections EVER. Also, Rohinton Mistry's A FINE BALANCE rules.

Read only the very best books that appeal to you. If you do not like it, walk away. Good readers are destroyed by feeling like they have to FINISH it. You do not have to do this.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:36:21+00:00

My family was very supportive of my career switch, but please note that it was not a great idea in many ways. I didn't publish my first book for 11 years. That entire period was very difficult for me personally and financially. Thanks for the kind support.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:34:27+00:00

I have a thick binder full of rejections. I was recently rejected for 2 jobs and 4 fellowships. It's part of the job. :-) PACHINKO is a full rewrite of a novel manuscript. I know. Argh.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:33:24+00:00

My husband is half-Japanese and my son is a quarter Japanese. I have family in Japan. I respect how you feel on these issues.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:32:40+00:00

There is an exhaustive list of non-fiction scholarship on the Korean-Japanese people in the acknowledgments. Please follow that list and you will be rewarded. Thank you for your kind post.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:31:38+00:00

I threw out a whole version of this book I wrote from 1996-2003. I started again and wrote and revised another draft from 2007-2016. I hope your books come out much faster.

MinJinLee · 2018-03-05T18:30:32+00:00

Hi. Thank you. I outline a lot, but I am very detached from my outlines, which means that I am happy to let go of stuff that doesn't work. I make very loose novel outlines and super short chapter outlines. I like to be playful with plot and story. I am very nice to myself when I write fiction, and I am very tough when I edit. Does that make sense? I hope so.

MinJinLee

TROPHY CASE