Since graduating from Columbia in 2003 with a degree in film and video production, award-winning author John Duffy has transitioned to a new form of storytelling in his career.

“Where When It Rains,” John Duffy’s second novel, which was published by Picket Fire, came out on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The coming-of-age story follows Riley, a skateboarder in Phoenix who suffers a head injury that leaves him with vertigo. As he tries to pursue his passion for filmmaking, Riley becomes caught up in parties, drugs and sex until a new opportunity offers a way out.

Duffy said the novel draws from both his personal experiences and the storytelling abilities and tools he cultivated during his time at Columbia. His courses gave him the opportunity to experiment with various forms of storytelling and laid the foundation for his creative work.

Dirk Matthews, an instructor in the School of Film and Television, noted Duffy’s genuine curiosity during his time in Matthews’ visual analysis class. Matthews said that curiosity across media is a valuable trait for advancing a creative career.

“When someone has a creative spirit, it isn’t easy to choose just one career,” Matthews said. “Experimentation is key to the creative process, and in developing a career, sometimes you need to get out and try something to know if you are good at it.” 

Duffy said that his time at Columbia opened his eyes to a variety of creative pathways, but also to reality. 

“I went through college and really I was less concerned with career by the time I was ending it. I was more concerned with just creativity and sort of finding my path,” Duffy said.

Although Duffy had different aspirations for his career once stepping into Columbia, his career has been a mix of several storytelling forms such as writing books, podcast series and films. 

“I went into college thinking I was just going to finish getting a degree and move to Hollywood,” he said, “and I didn’t care if I was going to have to start at the bottom. I was just going to work my way up and tough it out and show that good Midwestern grit and eventually I’d have a good job there.”

He credits much of his creative flexibility to the courses he took at Columbia, including those outside his major. He said the structure of his creative fiction writing classes had a lasting impact on his career.

“I think having the assignments for large projects that are multistage that require good organizational skills for time management and like your resource application so you can pace yourself and give everything the time it takes,” Duffy said. 

After graduating, Duffy took a job at Daily Planet, an editing house in Chicago’s NBC Tower. While he was using his degree, he feared becoming stuck in the role forever, he said. 

“I realized that I needed stuff to write about and I hadn’t lived enough. I didn’t feel like I had any sort of experience as anyone would care to hear about,” Duffy said. 

At 24, Duffy traveled to Arizona with fellow skateboarders to escape the cold. His life there was filled with skateboarding, partying and waiting tables. He drew inspiration for the novel from the experiences and people he encountered during that time.

“I think it’s probably impossible to invent somebody, to invent a character entirely from nothing. We all pull stuff from people we’ve witnessed and people we’ve known,” Duffy said.

According to the Independent Book Review, “Where When It Rains” offers a more nuanced exploration of existential struggles, revealing the complexity beneath the characters’ hardened exteriors.

“The care with which it handles its broken but genuine characters, the way it allows the story to unravel at its own uneven pace, the wonderful little additions of seemingly superfluous storylines all build a powerful narrative that will stay with you long after it is done.”

Reflecting on his journey that began at Columbia, Duffy said his writing is a reflection of not only the skills he learned at Columbia but also from his own human struggles. He encourages students, no matter their major, to explore creative writing as an outlet. 

“I think it’s so healthy for people, even people who don’t want to be writers, to just try it. And I think we all have creative impulses in us,” Duffy said. “That’s just being human beings. Human beings are storytellers.”

Resumen en Español: 

Desde que se graduó de Columbia en 2003 con un título en producción de cine y video, el galardonado autor John Duffy ha hecho la transición a una nueva forma de narración en su carrera.

“Where When It Rains”, la segunda novela de John Duffy, que fue publicada por Picket Fire, salió a la venta el martes 3 de diciembre. La historia sigue a Riley, un patinador en Phoenix que sufre una lesión en la cabeza que lo deja con vértigo. Mientras intenta perseguir su pasión por el cine, Riley se ve atrapado en fiestas, drogas y sexo hasta que una nueva oportunidad le ofrece una salida.

Duffy dijo que la novela se basa en sus experiencias personales y en sus habilidades narrativas y en las herramientas que construyó durante su tiempo en Columbia. Sus clases le dieron la oportunidad de experimentar con diversas formas de narración y sentaron las bases de su trabajo creativo.

Resumen en Español por Araceli Ramirez 

Resumen en Español editado por Doreen Abril Albuerne Rodriguez