In the second part of my conversation with hugely successful and popular (and oh my God, did this really happen??) Lisa See, author of Lady Tan's Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, and more, we talked about the interior side of writing–things like dealing with your inner critic and dealing with the parts you would really rather not do, thank you very much, including:

- The fascinating tidbit of information her research taught her about Los Angeles

- How the Chinese public discourse about protection against smallpox epidemics 500 years ago are eerily similar to the controversy over Covid vaccines we recently experienced

- The predictable emotional rollercoaster she rides each time during the revision process

- Why writers should start celebrating good sentences the way Olympians celebrate an important point

- The ninja trick of agreeing with your inner critic

- A potential peril of becoming an internationally bestselling author

- How the inevitable losses we experience with age can deepen your writing

- The things she says no to now that she’s the age that she is

- Some of the beliefs and attitudes passed down through the Chinese side of her family she really had to work to cast off (and how her mother, who is not Chinese, helped)

- Why reading fiction is her go-to personal development tool

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For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

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