Writing Westerns: How to Craft Novels that Evoke the Spirit of the West

by Michael Newton

Craft a novel that evokes the spirit of the WestWestern Movies don't appear as frequently today as they did in the 1960s, but those that make the cut in Hollywood prompt frequent Oscar buzz. Nor have Western novels been eclipsed. In 2010, Amazon.com offered 213 new Western novels for sale, plus many reprints of older classics.

"Writing Westerns" examines what a Western is, while teaching you how to research and write one. You'll benefit from the author's experience--248 books published since 1977--and the example of masters in the field, from Zane Grey and Max Brand to Louis L'Amour and Cormac McCarthy.

Each chapter includes a short list of recommended sources for further reading. Appendices to the main text include a glossary of Old West slang and jargon, which is helpful in writing realistic dialogue, a timeline of significant historical events, and a list of classic Western films and novels.

Research, talent, and imagination are the keys to writing a successful novel. Join us now, as we set off into the West.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

From Wikipedia:
"Michael Newton (born 1951) is an American author best known for his work on Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan series. Newton first began work on the Executioner series by co-writing "The Executioner's War Book" with Don Pendleton in 1977. Since then he has been a steady writer for the series with almost 90 entries to his credit, which triples the amount written by creator Don Pendleton. His skills and knowledge of the series have allowed him to be picked by the publishers to write the milestone novels such as #100, #200, and #300.

Writing under the pseudonym Lyle Brandt, Michael Newton has also become a popular writer of Western novels. He has written a number of successful non-fiction titles as well, including a book on genre writing (How to Write Action Adventure Novels). His book Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. Newton's "Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology" won the American Library Association's award for Outstanding Reference Work in 2006."

Pen names: Lyle Brandt, Don Pendleton, Jack Buchanan

Bibiliography available here.

Reviews

[Les Simpson]

Misleading Title

This is not a book *about* writing Westerns, though it could be useful in helping to write Westerns.

This is more of a primer about the American West, relaying facts and trivia that a prospective Western writer might use to add more authenticity to a story. The author does, occasionally, give hints on writing, such as the importance of avoiding anachronisms, but there is nothing like a “Western Story Formula”, writer’s checklist, or Western archetypes to be found within these pages.

I enjoyed this work for what it is, and especially appreciated the author’s listing of other books covering various topics in greater depth.

[Larry Armstrong]

This a great book, not because it tells you how to write a western novel, but because it gives you a history of western novels from a writer's perspective. Every craft needs a tool or two to teach it's practitioners what they are doing. This book does that for western novelists. Helpful what to do ideas and what not to do thoughts are also included. There are helpful appendices, too. The one on western vocabulary helps greatly. Heartily recommended for the serious author of western fiction. Or in my case, Science Fiction Westers.

[Karen]

Less a book about writing and more a lexiconical history of the western genre.

[Nicholas]

Informative all round reference on history and culture of the Old West. Good resource for writers.