Christine Sneed, award-winning author and creative writing professor, reflects on her path from teenage poetry journals to national acclaim. She shares how humor, specificity, and emotional honesty shape her storytelling, the moment in Paris that cemented her identity as a writer, and why trusting your instincts matters more than chasing trends. Christine also opens up about the realities of publishing, the craft lessons she teaches her students, and the quiet persistence required to build a life in literature.

01:54 — What Inspired Christine to Start Writing
02:38 — The Epiphany Moment in Paris: “I’m Going to Be a Writer”
04:36 — Returning from France & Early Mentors
05:53 — Getting an MFA at Indiana University
06:59 — Balancing Life, Writing, and Early Struggles
07:24 — What is “Domestic Realism”?
07:51 — Writing Structure, Titles, and Episodic Thinking
08:47 — Narrative Structure & Flashbacks
09:44 — Christine’s Writing Process & Routine
11:28 — Writing Humor & Her Book *Please Be Advised*
13:58 — Corporate Life as Creative Fuel
15:52 — Writing *Little Known Facts* and Hollywood Dynamics
17:30 — Who She Writes For (and Why)
18:08 — Research & Writing from Different Perspectives
19:39 — Writing for Publication vs Writing for Passion
21:12 — The “First Pancake” Philosophy
21:33 — Teaching & How It Shapes Her Writing
22:56 — How to Create Specific, Real Characters
23:09 — Craft Advice & The Power of Detail
25:23 — The Importance of Organic Strangeness in Fiction
25:26 — Advice to Her Younger Self
26:36 — What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative