tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post1117246774354119903..comments2024-03-29T01:33:22.669-07:00Comments on Buddies in the Saddle: Traditional western vs. Frontier FictionRon Scheerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-23897113922781605552015-02-25T14:14:53.866-08:002015-02-25T14:14:53.866-08:00Great post. I believe there is an untapped audien...Great post. I believe there is an untapped audience of readers for this genre and defining it as ‘Frontier Fiction’ helps readers discover new titles and potentially increases the market share for this type of book. It is very exciting. (And happens to be my personal favorite genre.) Keep writing!<br /><br />Krista Soukuphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12679893514435976128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-71586405827559839832013-08-27T09:24:00.525-07:002013-08-27T09:24:00.525-07:00Ron, a very timely post, especially since I usuall...Ron, a very timely post, especially since I usually read all kinds of western fiction though I have a preference for what you describe as "early western" which I find charming. But, I agree, "frontier fiction" sounds much better.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-38254900388633310022013-08-26T18:31:32.720-07:002013-08-26T18:31:32.720-07:00I like the "Frontier Fiction" handle. Mi...I like the "Frontier Fiction" handle. Mine are often thought of as "western" and yet the history that I try hard to include within my fiction is often not recognized probably because of the time (late 19th) and location of Western Canada.<br />"Partners" - wanderers who become miners.<br />"The Great Liquor War" - pack trains, building railroads and NW Mounted Policemen.<br />"Homesteader" - yes, cattle business, romance and gun-play.<br />My collection of 17 short stories contains two about cattle and the title story (The Yearlings) is centred around a woman, mother and wife.<br />Of the last three I've written, one could be called a "traditional western" but I wouldn't like it.<br />Frontier fiction, on the other hand ... lets all make our own signs and make a new section down at the book store.<br />Dave<br />www.dmmcgowan.blogspot.comD.M. McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008773391981989236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-84292413142416260382013-08-26T09:26:43.295-07:002013-08-26T09:26:43.295-07:00I'm reminded of Louis L'Amour's old co...I'm reminded of Louis L'Amour's old complaint: "If you write a book about a bygone period that lies east of the Mississippi River, then it's a historical novel. If it's west of the Mississippi, it's a western, a different category." That's something that must have happened between the era of the early writers you're studying and the era of L'Amour's popularity. Today I think you could give it a further twist: you can write a historical novel set west of the Mississippi, but if you put a cowboy or a lawman in it, that makes it a Western.<br /><br />I'm sure this has been said before, but for today's writers, it's frustrating that there are no sub-genres under Historical Fiction at most retailers. If there were, 'American West' or 'American Frontier' as a sub-genre would encompass all the different types of stories you're talking about nicely.Elisabeth Grace Foleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02073159989691222645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-60601798791796362572013-08-26T08:51:54.214-07:002013-08-26T08:51:54.214-07:00"Frontier fiction" works well enough, bu..."Frontier fiction" works well enough, but you're right to puzzle over genres that no longer exist. For example, I came across "When Earth Gods Kill," a story by Steve Frazee that first appeared in ADVENTURE magazine in 1952 (reprinted in Leisure's 2004 NIGHTS OF TERROR). The story is about two men proving they can engineer a mine the old man can't. That's it. There's a hint of romance and some tension (echoing Clouzot's film THE WAGES OF FEAR) but mostly it's a "think piece" about engineering --something that I'll bet wouldn't find much of an audience today.Richard Proschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314680709014254183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-90142239371647190272013-08-26T07:24:17.056-07:002013-08-26T07:24:17.056-07:00Good post, and I think a good term for a book titl...Good post, and I think a good term for a book title.James D. Besthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01032090031039316569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-36388948822532032672013-08-26T07:07:28.812-07:002013-08-26T07:07:28.812-07:00I like frontier fiction too. I'm glad you are ...I like frontier fiction too. I'm glad you are wrestling with this. The whole field needs defining. Our friends over at Western Fictioneers say they are writers and advocates of the traditional western, but a review of their work strongly suggests that they mean gunfighter and shoot-em-up stories. Even their awards are named after a revolver. Western Writers of America simply enrolls writers of westerns, loosely defined, but it does include writers of stories about all aspects of the west, including mining, wagon trains, cattle drives, and so on. Note that their awards are called Spurs, and their Wister Award is actually a bronze buffalo. WWA welcomes those who write about the fur trade and mountain men, a genre that goes way back and includes a Pulitzer winner. WWA is probably more traditional than Western Fictioneers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3434602314756730550.post-19245593232300256052013-08-26T06:33:33.671-07:002013-08-26T06:33:33.671-07:00I like the term frontier fiction. I remember readi...I like the term frontier fiction. I remember reading and enjoying L'Amour's stories like "To the Far Blue Mountains," which certainly weren't the "traditional" western. Frontier is a good term for it.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com