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Writing about what it means to build things.

I'm Maya — a writer, founder, and independent thinker based in Brooklyn. I explore the intersection of technology, creativity, and the human experience.

M
Maya Lin
Writer · Founder · Brooklyn, NY
Technology Creativity Founder Essays
84+
Essays
12K
Readers
6yr
Writing
Recent
Published "On Constraints"
2d ago
Shipped v2 of Cultivate
1w ago
Spoke at IndieConf NYC
2w ago

Selected Essays

All writing →
01
Technology
On Constraints: Why Limits Are the Source of All Creativity
Every great work of art was made within constraints. The sonnet has fourteen lines. The haiku has seventeen syllables. The indie developer has one person and no budget. I used to think constraints were obstacles. Now I think they're the point.
Mar 02, 2026
8 min read
02
Founder
The Unsexy Work: Building in Public When Nothing Is Working
Everyone loves the highlight reel. The launch tweet with 800 likes. The revenue screenshot. What nobody talks about is the six months before that — staring at a dashboard showing three visitors a day, two of whom are you.
Feb 18, 2026
12 min read
03
Creativity
Reading Slowly in a Fast World
I read 40 books last year. Not because I'm particularly disciplined, but because I stopped trying to read fast. The goal isn't to finish. The goal is to be changed.
Jan 29, 2026
6 min read
04
Technology
What Gets Lost When Everything Is Optimized
Optimization is seductive. Make it faster, smoother, more efficient. But there's something that lives in the friction — the pause, the imperfection, the gap where meaning sneaks in.
Jan 11, 2026
9 min read
About

Building things that deserve to exist.

I've been writing on the internet since 2018. What started as a way to process my thoughts about leaving a stable job to build something independently became something I couldn't stop doing.

In 2022 I founded Cultivate, a tool for writers who take their practice seriously. It's small, profitable, and built exactly the way I wanted — slowly, carefully, without VC money or growth hacks.

I care a lot about craft. About things that are made with intention. About the weird, specific, honest work that doesn't fit into a press release.

Now
✍️
Writing a long essay on attention
Draft 3 of 4 · Due March 15
🌱
Building Cultivate v3
Offline-first, new editor
📚
Reading: Simone Weil — Gravity and Grace
Slow, deliberate
📍
Brooklyn, NY
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