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Tom Soter

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, The United States

Website

http://www.tomsoterbooks.com/

Member Since

May 2015

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Born and raised with his two brothers in New York City, Tom Soter is a writer, editor, and improv teacher. He has written for Entertainment Weekly, Diversion, Backstage, The New York Observer, Empire, and countless other magazines and newspapers. He was the managing editor of Firehouse magazine from 1978 to 1981, and since 1982, he has been an editor at Habitat magazine, the definitive publication for boards of cooperatives and condominiums in New York City. He has produced 12 books, Bond and Beyond: 007 and Other Special Agents; Investigating Couples: A Critical Analysis of The Thin Man, The Avengers, and The X-Files; Some Thoughts and Some Photos, a memoir; Nick and Tom at the Beach, a children’s story; Overheard on a Bus, Disappearing Ac ...more

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Why do you write?

Tom Soter My father always warned me of people striving to do “great things.” He never did. Better to do your bit in the smaller corners of the world. Indeed, i…moreMy father always warned me of people striving to do “great things.” He never did. Better to do your bit in the smaller corners of the world. Indeed, if I can make someone smile or even laugh, and make them forget or, better yet, endure the pain of a lost family member or loved one, that’s enough for me. What is “meaningful”? Some work in soup kitchens, others change bed pans, I write stories. I also am reminded of the statement by Sullivan (Joel McCrea) at the conclusion of Preston Sturges’s great film, Sullivan’s Travels. After spending much of the movie trying to make a “message film” that will change the world, he realizes that being “merely” a comedy director can, perhaps, be enough. “There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that’s all some people have? It isn’t much but it’s better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan…”
I thought of that concept with satisfaction when my father’s ailing old friend, Joe LaRosa, called me out of the blue to tell me how much pleasure my book had brought him. I had similar feelings when I heard of a complete stranger laughing uproariously at passages in it, and, too, when I read comments posted on Amazon by satisfied readers. “Written with great humor and heart, Overheard On a Bus is a very engaging and entertaining collection of essays,” wrote one. “With a writing style that's easygoing yet delightfully, subtly snarky, and occasionally inspired, these reminiscences, many with 1970s New York City as a backdrop, are by turns charming, touching and flat-out funny,” wrote another.
And no one complained about the personal subject matter, either. Why should they? What better subject to write about than one’s own life? If a writer is any good at his chosen profession, he should be able to make at least some of that interesting. I’m a writer. So I write. But I often remember the words of the actor Raymond Burr, who said to me that an actor isn’t really an actor unless he is performing in front of an audience. I feel the same way about writing. A writer must write, otherwise why call himself a writer?
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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Tom Soter I don't believe in writer's block. If you're an improviser (and we all are to some extent), you trust your first instinct and go with that (you can al…moreI don't believe in writer's block. If you're an improviser (and we all are to some extent), you trust your first instinct and go with that (you can always revise it later). I talk about my writing methods in both DISAPPEARING ACT (in the story called, "The Ten-Minute Paper") and A DOCTOR & A PLUMBER IN A ROWBOAT (in the chapter on improv and writing). Graham Greene used to deal with writer's block by going to bed and trusting that his unconscious would work out the problems he was having. It usually did.(less)

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Tom Soter’s books

Average rating: 4.2 · 30 ratings · 7 reviews · 21 distinct works

	Investigating Couples: A Critical Analysis of The Thin Man, The Avengers and The X-Files 3.25 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2001 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Overheard On a Bus 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bond & Beyond: 007 and Other Special Agents 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1993 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Disappearing Act 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bedbugs, Biondi & Me it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Look at Them Now: & Other Stories from the Guardian Era, 1968-1975 by Tom Soter (Goodreads Author), Tom Sinclair, Alan Saly it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Driving Me Crazy it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Should Get a Cat it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Driving Me Crazy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Something Like the Truth really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Tom Soter's Blog

Dept. of Similarity

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but some people can get carried away.

This came to mind the other day when I was watching an old Anthony Mann western. Now, non-film buffs may not have heard of Mann, but he was a director who became well known and successful in the 1950s for directing a series of psychologically complex "noir westerns," most of them starring Jimmy Stewart. Stew Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 08, 2015 02:41 • Tags: boone, movies, ripoffs

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