For the record, if possible I'd like to pick the prompt for February or March. I want to make it in line with what would be needed for the Hillerman short story contest which has a deadline date in August and is one worth looking into. I figure February or March would give everyone plenty of time to polish stories if they want to try entering (I did previously, didn't win obviously.) Puma
I recall this now and think it as great idea now as I did then, but if your thinking about Feb or March for an August deadline, well, thats a six to seven month period to write and submit one story, which, unless its novel length, is quite a time.
Jeez, you ever get the feeling you've been ambushed.
All the time. Try working the toys department at Walmart from Black Friday until after Christmas. Every. Day. For. Over. A. Month. Need I say more? I'm sorry, just wanted to vent.
No worries, DH.
I was trying to cycle through each of the writers posting so that each of us took a turn in creating the prompt. However, as December is, or so I've heard, all about the holidays, perhaps -- if you're not to busy -- you could do the honours for January and regdog and I can take February and March.
Harry, who likes to plan ahead.
My logic with February or March for the August deadline Hillerman contest:
On the site wide comp - there was one here in western before - the topic was to write about a rodeo. Almost all of the works submitted for the competition were modern and barely western. So, in my opinion, that competition was a bust/
Planning ahead is good.
Good points, Jay. Western, like all the other forums, should be open for first chapters of any type of western book, whenever. It should also be open to posts of troublesome chapters or stories, ones that need help and ideas whenever. It should also be open to posts of things people just want to show off or would like a "looks good, go for it" on.
But, prompts / challenges / whatever you want to call them are different. They're the extras and no one is required to participate in them. They should be for fun, but they should also give the posters and critters a bit more insight into writing styles.
All right - no, I haven't heard about the priest, the rabbi, the Ozark Baptist preacher, and Lady Gaga - you going to clue us in? Puma
I like your logic, but -- even with the webpage stating not to post late -- Feb/March is miles too early for an august deadline, unless, as I have said, you're writing a novel.
I too, did not hear the punch line after the part about the priest, the rabbi, the Ozark Baptist preacher, and Lady Gaga ... my hearing-aid battery failed at that moment. I'll bet it was a real doozy.
Are you aiming to write a novel, Puma? Or the short story?
I think what you have said is revealing the obvious to us all, you don't want the western genre here (and by extension anywhere else) to be anything other than in the classical form.
Is this the case?
There's something, for want of a better term, almost holy, about the west, and westerns, old-fashioned westerns, are the only purely American type of literature. I'd like to preserve both of those, and in doing so, preserve our history and the ways of the people who created it. The American west, and the eastern development before it, are our heritage.
I'm not at all adverse to modern westerns - the mystery I wrote previously for the Hillerman contest was modern. But, if we're talking western genre, then I think we need to pay attention to what is western genre.
Jay already answered the question about limiting western here to the classic form. And you've read some of my non-classic posts (the majority) in SYW, so the answer should be obvious. Additionally, the classic form would exclude stories after about 1920 (and before 1870) and that would eliminate a lot of good stories about the west. But if you need a direct answer, no, I'm not suggesting limiting western here to the classic form. Puma
I didn't think I had to answer the obvious, Harry.
If I were writing a novel for the Hillerman contest I'd be at least done with the first draft by now. Writing something decent takes time and many edits. And whether I were or weren't wouldn't make any difference on my suggested timing to get the ball rolling on the short story contest. The five to six month lead time was suggested to give as many people as possible here an opportunity to write something they might want to enter in the Hillerman or submit elsewhere.
Are you intending to write a novel for the Hillerman contest? [answer yes or no]
"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. There's no sense to it." --Louis L'Amour
I confess, I've seen more movies than read the books.
But movies exist because of writers -- even the badly received films.
Below is a Wikipedia page on "Western" genre. Good stuff, even for those who don't agree with the content.
I'd advise folks to read it, just to discover if they have a commonly held opinion of what a majority deems a "Classic Western."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre)
Dave Hardy said:What's a Western?
Dave Hardy said:Even if the frontier is closed you at least need a recognizable character rooted in the frontier era. The Time it Never Rained takes place in the '50s, but Charlie Flagg is a rancher rooted in frontier tradition confronting a changed world.
Wiki said:Readership began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s and has reached a new low in the 2000s.
Question in return, Harry - why would it matter whether I'm writing a novel for the Hillerman contest? Puma