5 Reasons to Love Western Genres

By Sylvia Ney

While I could go on and on about my love of Westerns, here are my top 5 reasons for reading and writing in this amazing genre:

The History – so much of American life can be learned from studying fact, and even enjoying the fictional West. As the original “melting pot”, westerns often offer glimpses into the cultures that helped create our country. Taking part in “manifest destiny” and the gold or silver rushes are just a few examples. And while it’s not always an accurate depiction, westerns are one of the last ways to explore Native American civilization. Elmore Leonard and John Wayne fans know this better than most.

The Food – many families don’t cook, or teach their children to cook, anymore. Fast paced lives relegate dinnertime “to go” or defrosting our latest choices. Westerns frequently include references to cultivating your own food, as well as how to prepare it. Authors have even taken to including recipes referenced with their tales, or compiling an entire cookbook based on the genre. The Texas Cowboy : A History in Recipes and Photos. 

Family Time and Community learning – Westerns often depict more family and community time than contemporary stories. Families worked, learned, and died together. Learning to make your own materials, toys, home repairs, animal care, and community service projects are often skills highlighted in these stories. Even the more contemporary ones often focus on these important aspects. I love to use these aspects in my own westerns such as Broken Angel.

Adventure and Excitement – traveling to new places, trying new skills, old-fashioned gun fights and duels, posses, dime novels, cowboys and Indians, lawmen and drifters, the women’s rights movement or damsels in distress, bounty hunters and gamblers, gunslingers and outlaws, and rodeos all offer a variety of stimulating feats to the reader. Linda Lael Miller may be the queen of writing in this style.

Open to any genre – westerns no longer need to be a category on their own. Whether you enjoy a swoon-worthy cowboy romance, or you’re a science fiction fan (Cowboys and Aliens) westerns offer something for everyone.

I’d love to hear what you enjoy most about westerns. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments, or contact me through my social media.

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Sylvia Ney is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher. She is currently serving as a Board Member of both the Texas Gulf Coast Writers and Bayou Writers Group in Louisiana. She has published newspaper and magazine articles, photography, poetry, and short stories. To learn more or connect through various social media, visit: http://www.sylviacney.com/

For the Love of Shakespeare

In honor of the Master Playwright's Birthday, our Editor-in-Chief, Susan Reichert, is taking a pause from Wisdom Wednesdays to bring you Sylvia Ney's wisdom on the lasting impact of William Shakespeare.
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by Sylvia Ney

Even in the 21st century, Shakespeare proves to be a dominant presence in books, theater, and even movies. His plays are continually reinterpreted by writers and audiences worldwide.

His works have been examined in academia for the psychological (Oedipal complexes like Hamlet), Marxism, and even feminism. Near scientific analysis of Shakespeare dominates in many schools. Literary theory and “concept” productions abound. 

However, many teachers and readers still enjoy the musical poetry and raw excitement of his plots. They are still moved by the essence of his words. 

Shakespeare is what every generation makes of him. He is universal because he dealt with the human experience. In the 18th century, Samuel Johnson put it elegantly: “His works may be considered a Map of Life.”

Many today still argue whether this one man wrote all of these works. However, there are at least 50 surviving references linking Shakespeare to his plays, including an outburst by Robert Greene (1592). In First Folio (a collection of Shakespeare’s 36 Comedies, Tragedies and Histories published in 1616) actors such as John Hemminge and Henry Condell as well as playwright Ben Johnson, hail Shakespeare’s accomplishments. In the gossipy world of London theatre, would such a hoax have gone undiscovered?

Whether you agree all works were written by this one man, argue they were by another, or even by a group, you cannot deny the contributions this collection has had on the world. No other poet displays the explosion of vocabulary that Shakespeare introduced. He gave us around 1,500 new English words including advertising, cold-blooded, drug, embrace, grovel, luggage, premeditated, and retirement. We still use many of his phrases today:

As good luck would have it (The Merry Wives of Windsor) 
Bated breath (The Merchant of Venice)
Be-all and the end-all (Macbeth)
Neither a borrower nor a lender be (Hamlet)
Brave new world (The Tempest)
Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew)
Brevity is the soul of wit (Hamlet)
Refuse to budge an inch (Measure for Measure)
Devil incarnate (Titus Andronicus / Henry V)
Parting is such sweet sorrow (Romeo and Juliet)

England’s national poet has become playwright to the world. During his lifetime, he brought the passions and politics of distant lands to the stage of the Globe. As the English language spread, so did devotion to this great author. He is revered around the world. His works have been translated into more than 180 languages. They have been rewritten, modernized, even parodied. They inspire operas, ballets, paintings and movies. No other dramatist had wielded such influence. Is it any wonder the world is still in love with Shakespeare?
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Sylvia Ney resides in southeast Texas with her husband, two daughters and miniature dachshund.

She is a freelance author who has published poetry, short stories, articles and photography. You can view some of her work for free on her blog. You can also connect with Sylvia on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.