Posts by Peter Colt
Len Deighton
I don’t read much new fiction anymore. Especially not stuff in the genre that I write. I live in mortal fear of unintentionally copying someone else’s work. I suspect that all mystery fiction is derivative at this point. When I need to scratch my fiction reading itch, I tend to favor things in different…
Read MoreEvery Fall
Last week I wrote that I don’t want my blogs here to be my just reposting my Substack. Unfortunately to stay viable int he Googleverse I have to post something here at least once a week. The stuff posted here, might be similar but it won’t be the same as the weekly Substack or…
Read MoreCreatures of Habbit
From today’s Substack. https://open.substack.com/pub/pcolt/p/creatures-of-habit?r=43bho8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Read MoreNot Pumpkin Spice
I have to admit that I have become kind of a Substack junky. I obsessively check my stats and try figure out if it indicates a growing audience or some other trend. Hey, I like validation as much as the next guy. I was going to repost last night’s Substack here but this morning…
Read MoreThomas and Mercer
Chances are if you are reading this here, you follow my Substack or have had it sent to your inbox or plastered on your social media. It’s all part of my effort to promote my books out in the vastness of internet land. That means posting the same thing on many platforms at the…
Read MoreON THE ROOF’S EDGE
My grandmother used to say, “Actors Act and Writers Write”. It was usually in response to my pointing out a good actor in a bad role. I will confess that it took me years to fully understand what she meant. It has something to do with the compulsion that drives certain people. I suspect…
Read MoreTHE BLANK PAGE
No matter what you write. No matter what genre, style or project, essay, novel or poem, it always starts with the same thing. The blank page in front of you. It doesn’t matter if that page is a sheet of actual paper or on a computer screen. They are equally daunting. If you don’t…
Read MoreBlogger Shmogler
Why it’s easier to write an 80,000 word novel than a weekly 800 word blog. After my last post my friend Amy who’s known me since we were Freshmen at URI, said that she always felt like Blogging was like writing letters to friends. She should know, she’s done both and a lot better…
Read MoreOn Writing
I get asked a lot of questions about how one gets to be a writer. What should someone do if they want to be a writer. I’d like to say that there is a simple answer, do X or Y enough and you too can be a writer. I don’t have a pat answer…
Read MoreMy Local Paper
I moved to Rhode Island in 1986 from Nantucket. On Nantucket there were two papers that were king; The Inquirer Mirror (The Inky Mirror or just The Inky) and the Boston Globe. When I moved to Providence one thing became apparent, this was a one-paper town. That paper was and still is The Providence Journal…
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