7 QUICK TIPS TO WRITE A WESTERN

Stephen Bly

by Stephen Bly

Copyright©2008

The man with the cowboy hat is holding a thesaurus and a dictionary and he tells his friend, "I've got all the words I need for my western. Now I've got to put them in the right order."

So, you want to be a writer? That's a noble goal, it's true. Jist like big time wrestlin', the urge comes over you, to pen that one immortal line before your life is through and find your name in micro-print in America's Who's Who.

So, you want to be a writer? Well, pardner, shake my hand. I hope your journey's short and swift to that published Promised Land, where reviews flow in from coast to coast with accolades so grand. And among them literary giants, you're asked to take your stand.

So, you want to be a writer? Well, it don't sound all that tough. I hope you find the contracts big and loaded down with fluff. And editors a beggin' you to send them some more stuff, while your banker's holdin' up his hands, cryin', "Hold it! That's enough!"

So, you want to be a writer? I know jist how you feel. It holds a certain status and a glamorous appeal. I've been there once or twice myself. That hunger's kind of real. 'Til one day you wake up and find, it ain't that big a deal.

(from "So, You Want To Be A Writer?" copyright©1997)

Here's seven quick tips that might help you kick that barrel down the trail. 

A KICK IN THE WRITER'S KABOOSE: GET STARTED, KEEP GOING

Janet Chester Bly
Copyright© 2001
If you wanna be a writer, you’d better expect to develop more than just your talent. 
You need courage to keep knocking at editor’s doors when they’re shut in your face. 
You need stamina for long days and sleepless nights when deadlines loom. 
You need persistence when you know you’ve poured on paper your best wit and no one seems to care much.

But even more, you must know how to get yourself started and keep chugging. Beginners need to know how to begin. So do the already published.

Getting cranked haunts you when you're stalled by e-mails and surfing the web and finally stare at a blank screen and find yourself muttering, “What in the world was I thinking?" Pushing through that block requires seasons of frank assessment. Ask yourself blunt questions, such as, what is writing to me? Is it a hobby, one of many pursuits and interests? Or is it a passionate drive? Am I in need of a healing catharsis for unresolved emotional needs? Or a way to feed my ego? Is this a means to feed my family? Why am I doing
this? Why do I want to write?

If you're gonna keep writing, you’ve got to want it. The competition’s stiff. The publishing road's narrow. Lots of folks want the fame of having written without the pain of learning to write well. Just like those old days when teachers taught penmanship by forcing students to draw perfect circles over and over, writing is a practiced trade. A finished product rarely emerges from a first flush of inspiration. You may accumulate hundreds of pages of private slush piles to discover a jewel worthy of public viewing.