Ask the Author: Paul Colt
Answered Questions (6)
Paul Colt
I've never had a big problem with writer's block. That's not to say I've never been stuck on what to do with a scene or where a story should go, I've just never been stumped very long. I usually have two or three projects going at any given time so if I get stuck on one I do something else for awhile. That may be the simplest answer. A deeper possibility may be the fact I don't obsess over 'being blocked'. Some people do. It makes me wonder if that doesn't feed on itself. A writer friend Rod Miller points out that professional writers on deadlines write. They can't afford to get blocked. They power through the creative rough spots. Writer's block may be more about the writer than the block.
Paul Colt
That is a hard question because there are so many things to like about writing. If I have to choose the b e s t thing, it would be the freedom writing gives curiosity and imagination. Curiosity leads to discoveries, research and learning. Imagination transforms those discoveries into stories for the enjoyment of others. I find that a very satisfying process.
Paul Colt
I typically have two or three projects going at any given time. I have a new book coming out in December. Wanted: Sam Bass is the start of a new series based on a fictional organization I call The Great Western Detective League. I'm expecting the advance reader copies anytime now and will do a give away when I receive them. I just finished the last rewrite on the second book in the bounty series and sent it off to my editor. At the moment I am researching and writing a new book set in Bleeding Kansas during the run-up to the civil war. When I get that project a little farther along, I'll start plotting another Great Western Detective League story.
Paul Colt
That question covers a lot of ground for me. I refer to my writing experience as a journey. The journey started in 2003 when I first toyed with the idea of writing a novel. I didn't get my first taste of success until 2009 and things didn't really get rolling until 2014. That's six years to get started and eleven years to have some success. The first thing an aspiring author needs to understand is that the journey is a marathon not a sprint. Along the way you pass through a series of 'gates'- milestones that don't come easy. Each one presents it's own special challenge. To complete the journey you need persistence and determination. You need thick skin to handle rejection and the ability to take criticism and use it to make you better. If you don't have those qualities, rent a movie. If you have those qualities or think you might, check out my Goodreads blog or may facebook posts over the next several weeks. They will discuss the gates you pass through on the journey and what to expect.
Paul Colt
Let's take this question today because it builds on the question from yesterday about where did I get the idea for my latest book. The thing that really gets me going as a writer is a great story. The ideas for those stories come from a wide variety of sources, most often by some accidental discovery. The big stories- Grasshoppers in Summer, Boots and Saddles, A Question of Bounty- are historical dramatizations. They are little known or overlooked stories that need to be told. They inspire me. They don't come along every day either. When I'm not heads-down in one of those, I write fictional stories that have an historical spine. In those books the inspiration comes from the history and the story comes from the characters. When I get excited about a character, I need to know that character. I try to let the character write his or her story. When they take over, I get the story I'm after. Hope that answers your question.
Paul Colt
This is a great question. For me the best ideas seem to show up at unexpected times and places. The idea for A Question of Bounty: The Shadow of Doubt came from a magazine article on the controversy surrounding the death of Billy the Kid. That piqued my curiosity and started my research. When I put Pat Garrett's book The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid next to John Poe's memoir The Death of Billy the Kid, I knew I was on to a story. Poe was Garrett's deputy on the scene that fateful night. Garrett's book is the accepted historical record. Poe's account doesn't quite agree. The questions Poe raises lead to a shadow of doubt.
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