Literary Birthday – 29 September – Colin Dexter

Colin Dexter was born on 29 September 1930 and died on 21 March 2017.

Colin Dexter Quotes

1. I always write from the beginning to the end, pretty dreadful stuff, really; but you’ve got the scaffolding up. Then I start at the beginning and go over it again.
2. I’ve never believed in writer’s block because my own view about beginning to write is that you shouldn’t think you’re going to write the best first sentence or the best first paragraph. I used to think, I’m probably going to write the worst first sentence ever written.
3. I found if I wrote a page a day, 360 days a year, it soon built up.
4. I think, for me, it’s always been the initial business—just getting a word down, any words down, on a blank piece of paper.  Once I’ve done that, I’m away. Beginning is one half of the deed.
5. Some very fine writers, Phyllis James or Ruth Rendell – their primary concern is to look into the abyss of human consciousness. Good for them; but not for me. For me, it’s the twists and turns of the whodunnit.

Five facts about Colin Dexter

1. Colin Dexter’s first name was Norman.
2. Colin Dexter was a Morse operator during his National Service in the army – but that’s not how Inspector Morse got his name.
3. Like his creation, Colin Dexter loved the music of Wagner, the paintings of Vermeer, the writing of Charles Dickens, and the taste of real ale.
4. In true Hitchcock style, Colin Dexter appeared in all but three Morse episodes. He was “the man in the wheelchair at Magdalen Bridge” and “the man with crutches in the hospital waiting room”. He often appeared at the bar of the pub where Morse was drinking. In 1993 he achieved his ambition and played a small speaking role.
5. Colin Dexter was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature in 1997.

Colin Dexter was an English crime writer best known for his Inspector Morse novels. He wrote 13 novels in the series between 1975 and 1999, beginning with Last Bus to Woodstock and ending with The Remorseful Day. Other popular titles include The Jewel That Was Ours. The Morse novels were adapted into the long-running ITV series Inspector Morse, starring John Thaw. Dexter’s characters later appeared in the spin-off series Lewis and Endeavour. He also worked as a crossword setter for The Oxford Times. Dexter received numerous honours for his contribution to crime fiction. The Crime Writers’ Association awarded him two Silver Daggers, two Gold Daggers, and the 1997 Diamond Dagger for outstanding contributions to crime literature. In 2000, he was appointed an OBE for services to literature. When he received the honour, Dexter joked that he would have liked to think Inspector Morse would have bought him a celebratory whisky.

Source for image: BBC