There are dozens of fiction genres on the market, from science fiction to fantasy. Western fiction is really part of the historic fiction genre, but it is distinctive enough to warrant its own category. The popularity of western fiction dates back to the dime novels of the late 1800s. They were considered romantic to those living on the east coast and featured gunslingers, heroes, and the exoticism of the Wild West.
What is Western Fiction?
It might be simple to state that a book, which claims to be western fiction, must take place west of the Mississippi River before the dawn of the 20th century. This might be an accurate description, but if you want to write western fiction, you’ll have to become aware of what fans of this intriguing genre are looking for in a good book.
Avid readers of western fiction will know whether you’re even attempting to be historically accurate. They’ll notice those errors that could have been avoided by a few minutes of research and won’t be very forgiving. Before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), do yourself a favor and sit down for a little research session.
You’ll want to get the right feel for your book. Westerns will naturally be rougher and less refined than an historic novel set in Victorian England, for example. The characters will be tougher, nature less forgiving, and the tows much simpler.
Finally, you need to make sure that you’re focusing on your hero (or heroine, as the case may be). Westerns are typically about the journey of the hero and less about-facing some great evil. While there’s nothing wrong with having a “big-bad” in your story, readers of western fiction are looking for more than a showdown. They’re intelligent people who are searching for realistic characters, plot, and an exciting conclusion. Don’t let them down.
Can I Use Historic Figures in My Novel?
The idea behind using historic figures in western fiction is a valid one. You’ll engage readers who know something about your real-life character and get the chance to enlighten those people who maybe didn’t even know Annie Oakley or Bill the Kid were real people. And it can be fun and exciting to recreate characters from centuries past.
However, choosing to include historic characters in your book can also present difficulties you may not be prepared for. Generally, fans of western fiction will know a great deal about historic characters. If you get something wrong, people are going to notice, and these people are going to be annoyed.
If you want to include historic characters without incurring the wrath of your readers, do so sparingly and with care. Unless you’re willing to do countless hours of research and spend many hours refining your ideas, don’t write about well-documented events. Look through the known history of Billy the Kid (or whoever the character is) and look for lapses. If there’s a period of time when little or nothing was recorded, that’s where you can get creative, at least within reason. Don’t change important dates or locations, but if you can sneak in some of your own details here and there, you’ll have a more interesting book.
Western fiction is exciting, rough, and fun. Pick your era, do your research, and start writing. Before you know it, you’ll have become an author within the western fiction genre.
It’s easy to say you want to write a novel. It’s harder to do it. You have to create a plot with vibrant characters that’s engaging enough to draw your readers in and keep them entertained. Having a beginning isn’t good enough. You have to take that beginning and weave it into a story that’s truly worth telling, and you’ll need characters that have realistic emotions and reactions. Writing these reactions can be a complicated and difficult task. However, there are two techniques that can help you to engage with your own characters and develop them in a way that is both realistic and in keeping with your story.
Learn to Play “What If” With Your Characters
Once you understand the basics of writing fiction, you have to weave your tale effectively. However, sometimes you’ll not really know where to go with your plot. You may not have any idea what your characters should do, or what they might do when presented with certain situations. In this case, it might be helpful to play “what if” with your characters.
Get out a blank piece of paper and scratch out a few “what ifs.” Play with each idea for a little while. Keep some basic notes about what might happen as each idea is explored. Eventually, you’ll find one that works, but don’t discard your list of “what ifs.” Put them in a folder somewhere. You might find a place to use them later in your story, or they might be useful in another book, especially if you intend to reuse some of your characters.
Put Yourself in Your Character’s Place
If you’re not sure what your character might do or say in a given situation, try being you character for a moment. Use your imagination and put yourself in your character’s shoes. If your character is going for a brisk jog across an icy lake, and you have no idea how that feels or how to describe it, take yourself outside and jog across an icy lake. Be your character and you’ll soon figure out exactly how it feels and what your character would think about the icy lake.
This also works for entire scenes that you might be trying to construct. Get up and act them out, even if you have to play the role of multiple characters. By actually considering real reactions to certain situations, you’ll be better able to create a story that seems plausible and engages your readers.
It’s easy to write yourself into a corner and not be entirely certain how to write yourself out again. However, by playing “what if” or taking the time to imagine or enact certain scenes, you will be well on your way to writing your first novel.
After writing and revising, rewriting and editing, submitting and resubmitting, you might feel exhausted. And you have every right to want to take a break, sit back, and just wait. Maybe someone will publish your work, maybe they won't, but you're tired and you don't want to think about it any more.
But you still want to be published. You want to see your name in print. So, is there anything left that you can actually do? Your plot is completed, your characters are done for the moment, and your story is in the mail. Surely there's nothing left to do.
But there is. Keep writing. Move on. Come up with that next great story and get it down on paper. You've already done it once, so do it again. If you want to make a living as a writer, you have to keep writing, even when you think you're done. If you really can't find it in you to write another novel just yet, think about launching a career as a freelance writer. Being a professional writer can mean more than just writing novels.
Whatever you do, keep writing. Keep that pen sharp and ready to create the next great work.
If you've written your first novel and submitted it to a couple of publishers, you're might find yourself at a loss. What do you do now? You could do any number of things, really. You might choose to take a break and wait for the results of your queries. Maybe you'll sit in a chair and fret about the queries you sent out. but neither of these is very productive.
Instead, keep your work out there. Look up every publisher that specializes in the genre of your novel and submit more queries. If you're looking for an agent, fire off queries to as many as you can find. Keep at it until you've submitted to every publisher and agent with a publicly available address. If you don't keep your work out there, you'll never be a published author.
For those who've chosen to self-publish, you'll have to promote your work to get any sales at all. With the Internet, this has become easier, but it still requires effort. Promote your book on social networking sites, link exchanges, and anywhere else you can think of. You might also want to consider approaching your local bookstores about stocking the book. This is harder than it sounds, as many bookstores are reluctant to carry a self-published work. However, with a little persistence, you might be able to change their minds.
If you really believe in your book, keep it out there. If it's truly worth publishing, someone will publish it. And if it's well written and entertaining, people will buy it. But it's up to you to make sure your novel stays out there, getting attention and hopefully being noticed by the right people.
