Tess Quinn

Today we have author Christine Columbus joining us to talk about her writing life! Check out her story, which includes everything from brainstorming in the shower, to her high school boyfriend telling her that she’ll be a writer. Enjoy!



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



You know how there are people who sing in the shower. Well, I brainstorm in the shower. Which is why I’ve written mostly short stories-I live in Minnesota and only have a 40 gallon water heater.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



I get up at 5 o’clock in the morning, Hoola Hoop for 10 minutes; make a cup of coffee and crawl back into bed with my laptop. I write until 6:30 am and then hustle to get ready for the pesky day job. Late in the evening I crawl back into bed with a cup of decaf and my laptop and write a little more.



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



I am 50 years old and have always written. A couple instances stand out in my mind that solidified that decision…in high school my boyfriend said to me…you’re so lucky you know exactly what you’re going to do.



I stared blankly at him, at seventeen I didn’t have a clue. “What?”



“You’re going to be a writer,” he said.



A writer. I was going to be a writer. I had almost forgotten.



He said, “Promise me you’ll always write with your own name.”



“Sure, but why?” I asked.



“Because someday when I am at the grocery store and am waiting to check out and I look up and see a novel with Christine Columbus on it, I’ll know you wrote it.”



Of course being 17, instead of being thrilled my heart was pounding. Who was he going to be with at the grocery store? Why wouldn’t he be standing next to me? My hands clenched. I thought we were going to be together forever and he was already planning a future without me. I’d be writing best-selling novels and he’d be grocery shopping.



We broke-up shortly after that…got back together…broke-up…etc., but in the end…he was right. I am writing novels and I’m certain he’s somewhere grocery shopping and I have no idea who he’s with.



And when I was in my late 30’s and was at school with my son, a parent walked up to me and asked what I did. Before I could answer I was a clerk at a utility company my son said, “My mom is a writer.”



I smiled and nodded. Yes, I am a writer…even if other people have to remind me.



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Live your dream. Write.



Thanks, Christine! Great answers! For those of you who want to know more about Christine, you can check out her website here. Her next book, “The Perfect Country Western Story” released on the fifth of this month! Yeay!!
Thanks again for joining us with writers on writing! Until next week!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 10:48 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.