Western - plots and locations

Puma, just a question. Then you do not consider modern westerns as westerns? Meaning anything later than the 1920's?

Does this same time frame classify the westerns from Ozland? (Downunder.)

Was just wondering.

If you take away the SF touches, then The Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers and Firefly are both westerns. Outland (Sean Connery film) is basically High Noon on Mars(?). There is an Aussie film from a couple of years ago about a guy sent out to kill his brother (or something) that feels like a western as well. I'm not so sure Quigley Down Under would count though...

But back to the question:

1880's is the prime period for big adventure westerns. Most of what I have read has been in a narrow band between 1875 and 1895, though I have waded through a couple of really, really heavy books about The Alamo. My taste is for more OTT material anyway, and the earlier settings are less well represented.

I guess the ideal western (for me) would be the man-with-no-name type character setting off against a bunch of nastier characters, lots of shooting, a chase (maybe two), a knife fight and an explosion. I've been flicking through the Gunsmith paperbacks, so my taste is obviously suspect when it comes to westerns...

Funny, I've been on a western kick lately too. I think partially because it's summertime and I don't watch to read or watch anything "too heavy" at the moment. I've also been listening to Agatha Christie stories.

I watched The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck last week, have She Wore a Yellow Ribbon downloaded, and have Ride the High Country requested from the library.

Have you ever read Monte Walsh, Puma?

Puma said:

I don't recall it, Alleycat. May I ask you why you ask? Puma

Click to expand...

Monte Walsh is one of my favorite westerns, if not my absolute favorite.

It meets the definition you gave of a classic western in terms of setting, time period, character, and plot. It's also a realistically told story. However, it's also not the classic western as many have come to think of it. There is some violence and gun play in the story, but not a lot. Monte Walsh is mostly a horseman working on a large ranch. Him and his buddy get into a few scraps, but they don't end up in a gunfight at high noon on the street.

The reason I mentioned it is if you were interested in writing another classic western, you might consider something similar; that is, a story that is still a classic western in all ways, but one that isn't what everyone has come to expect of a western. At the same time, one that isn't one of those westerns that has an anti-hero as the protagonist, or a latter day western where someone in town has a Model T.

Just a thought.

You want a fresh idea for a western? Try writing one from a woman's perspective and NOT make it a romance. Toss in a little bit of romantic intrigue, if you must, but stick mainly to the story. Do some research. There are many, many women who helped to settle this land, and a good number of them did so while not occupying 'traditional' roles. Belle Starr. Calalmity Jane. Also, women often rode cattle and worked the field when help was short, as well as ran stores, drove wagons and operated stagecoach lines.

A realistic, traditional western told from a woman's POV, whether the plot of the story is to catch the bad guy, find the gold, or push the cattle through to Dodge would be a fascinating read. Have her inherit her father's/husbands ranch and have her have trouble hiring men to work for her because she is a woman. Have her be forced to set out on the trail, ramrodding a crew, and have her do a damn fine job of it. Show us the prejudice she encounters, the trials she surpasses...and for the love of GOD do not have some damn blankety-blank man swoop in and save her in the end. We (she) does not need saving. She needs support. Big difference.

Write that, Puma, and write it well, and you just might have something there.

But, then, that's just me talking....

Louis L'amour did two good ones fron the Womans POV: Ride The River and The Cherokee Trail.

I think Matt Braun wrote something from a female POV as well, but don't recall for sure.

I have a weakness for more historical westerns as opposed to traditional westerns, although my own stuff does blend the two to a great degree. My ideal western would be something along the lines of either the "Man with no name" stuff or a Frontier Army piece in the vein of "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" but without some of the more sentimental stuff that John Ford had to put in. As for time period, I'm really starting to look for things that deal with the period between 1860 and 1876...I'm tired of the "rugged trapper" stuff and really think that there's some good ground to explore in the period where settlement really started its explosion.

That and a good gambler western. Not the typical Doc Holiday stuff, but one that focuses on a gambler who does it to make a living and ends up investing in the town he bases himself in. This happened a fair amount in the West, but I've not seen a good version of it in print (which of course doesn't mean that it's not out there).

My 'resting' western is written from the woman's POV.

Stagecoach crashes (drunk driver);
rescued by two cowboys who are setting up a horse ranch in AZ Territory;
They offer to escort her to her Aunt's ranch. (One isn't a typical cowboy, he's an immigrant from the Middle East and acts as the other's moral compass, because he's a devout muslim).
Snake bites, drunken guides, Apaches, etc.

Must finish it.

"That and a good gambler western."

Cav Guy:

Read Louis L'amour's FALLON for this particular type western.

wannawrite said:

You want a fresh idea for a western? Try writing one from a woman's perspective and NOT make it a romance. Toss in a little bit of romantic intrigue, if you must, but stick mainly to the story. Do some research. There are many, many women who helped to settle this land, and a good number of them did so while not occupying 'traditional' roles. Belle Starr. Calalmity Jane. Also, women often rode cattle and worked the field when help was short, as well as ran stores, drove wagons and operated stagecoach lines.

Click to expand...

Great idea! Puma, if you're interested in pursing wannawrite's idea, I recommend taking a look at Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading the West [Marcia Meredith Hensley, 2008, High Plains Press]. This book might give you some great ideas and locales.