Well, that just isn't true, although Johnny Depp and Disney have probably done more to kill off the Western movie with their truly awful Lone Ranger movie than a hundred bad books. It was a disaster at the box office, and deservedly so.
But, back to writing Westerns, especially for younger readers. Kids do still read, despite the distractions of computers, video games, organized sports, growing up too fast, and so on and so on. However, you have to write what kids want to read. It's especially hard to write stories that will interest boys. This is where the Western novel fills the bill perfectly. A good Western has plenty of action, which is the main thing boys look for. There's riding, fist fights, laughs, and of course shooting and gunfights, which boys weaned on shoot -'em -up video games eat up. So you've already got something that will appeal to a lot of boys.
Then, you add in a suspenseful plot, usually make the hero, or one of them, a boy of fifteen or a bit younger, and toss that kid into the middle of the action. You sneak in some history, and the reader has a learning experience without even realizing it.
And that's another reason I write Westerns. Too much has been forgotten about the heritage of our own country. Everything nowadays is diversity, and respect for other cultures. That's all well and good, but in too many cases we've neglected, or even worse, made the people who settled the United States and Canada out to be the bad guys. Diversity has to include everyone, and that includes the people who settled our countries and made them great. So I write Westerns to help keep our heritage and history alive. If they're entertaining, and enjoyable to read, then I've done my job. I hope some of you agree with me that I have.
Jim, I love this post! You make some excellent points about diversity. Despite our best efforts to be inclusive, we sometimes exclude our own history and culture. Yes, Americans have engaged in some pretty rotten behavior; nevertheless, there are some sterling examples of extremely good behavior in our history, as well. We have a responsibility to own both and carry them forward as lessons for the future.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about your perspective on the recent LONE RANGER remake. My eyes are still hurting. AWFUL.
HUGS, honey!!!!
And therein lies the problem. Americans don't have a monopoly on truly rotten behavior (just take a look at the Middle East right now) but too many revisionists want to cast us as the Great Satan who caused all the world's problems. I'm especially fond of those who like to picture Native American Indians as kind of 19th century peace and love hippie flower children, who lived in harmony with nature and each other until the white man showed up. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many, but of course not all, tribes were warrior societies, with men ranked on how well they did in battle, and who were constantly in conflict with other tribes.
ReplyDeleteGood and evil exist in all cultures and I agree with you 100% about keeping a balance. I also believe in the importance of heroes. They are important to all ages but especially youth because heroes teach ethics by example.
DeleteThere was one type of story I particularly enjoyed when I was growing up - and still enjoy now. The type where there are heroes on both sides of the conflict - or at least hero and anti-hero. "Your enemy is not a villain in his own eyes." as Robert Heinlein said in the Notebooks of Lazarus Long. I first read that when I was about sixteen and it may be why I have little patience with stories that villainize any society as a whole.
Oh dear. I hate to say I agree with the Crazy Canuck, but...I agree with the Crazy Canuck about more than one notion. I'm always quoting Heinlein, too, Ali, for exactly the same reason you do. Every villain is the hero of his own life story. (I often end up with villains people beg me to redeem by giving them their own stories. My work here is done. ;-) I'll bet you get the same response. Your villains always seem to be more complex than the average bear. :-) )
Delete"Heroes teach ethics by example." We need more of that! :-)
Amen. In spades. The best villains are the heroes of their own stories, and the best heroes are human, not perfect.
DeleteTrue MM - which is why the best heroes also make the best enemies.
DeleteJim, I think it's wonderful that you're writing Westerns that appeal to the youth of society. Although, I must say girls like a good shoot 'em up, too. :) I also think your comments on diversity are spot on. A colleague and I were just discussing this not too long ago, about how settlers in the West are often depicted as evil while the American Indian tribes seem to be painted as all living in harmony with out an evil thought in the bunch. When we were writing text for the museum we wanted to give a balanced perspective and give an accurate portrayal of all cultures.
ReplyDeleteHope you sell tons and prove that the Western is very much alive!
I didn't mean to imply girls don't also like Westerns. (My sister was in love with The Lone Ranger on TV). But girls are much easier to get to read than boys, at least that's what all the librarians where I give presentations tell me.
ReplyDeleteThe pendulum's swung too far. It used to be "all white man good, all Indians savages". Now it's the other way around. Balance, as you mentioned above, is the key.
I know, Jim, I was just teasing, I think it's great your stories will appeal to boys.
DeleteJim, one of the things I've always appreciated about your stories is the way you draw a bright line between the good guys and the bad guys (except in RANGER'S REVENGE, in which the hero went to the dark side there for a while ;-) ). I think your approach can be especially valuable for young readers. Like Ali said above, kids need role models. Most sports stars and celebrities aren't folks young people need to emulate, IMO, but classic cowboys and lawmen are a whole 'nother matter. I can't think of many better role models than the men who clung to The Code of the West. :-)
DeleteWhen I was a kid, sports figures, for the most part, realized they were heroes and role models to kids and acted accordingly, at least in public. Now for the most part they are just greedy, in it for the money, conceited thugs.
DeleteJim, your stories in this series about Nate Stewart are good for any age. I really have been enjoying them, too! And I think they would be a great thing for teachers to use in school. You know, when I was in school, and even when my kids were, (in elementary school) teachers would have a short "reading" time after lunch when everyone came in. I wish all teachers had the time set aside to do that. That does more for kids wanting to read than anything else. I still remember reading Charlotte's Web (my teacher read it to us) a chapter each day after lunch, and we sat enthralled as she read that story, and would stop to ask us questions or talk about what was happening, etc. Kids want to have some interaction about what they're reading and talk to others about it, and SHARE it with someone. These books of yours are the kind that would really lend themselves to that.
ReplyDeleteCheryl
When I was in high school (a Catholic, all male high school) SHANE was one of the books on the summer required reading list. The book still is in the school library, but alas, no longer required to be read.
DeleteMy grandsons loved the new Lone Ranger movie. We ended up watching it six times because they wanted to see it over and over. Older people don't like it, but younger ones do.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the resurgence of YA westerns. And I especially love the balanced approach. There's a big difference between political correctness and doing your best to portray the Old West as it really was. Of course, our stories do have to be bigger than life or they'd be boring, but that doesn't mean we have to vilify some and glorify others. Good post, Jim.