Literary Agents Fiction History Westerns
Monday, February 28th, 2011 at
1:44 am
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50 Fiction Writing Tips From Spaghetti Westerns
The films of Clint Eastwood and director Sergio Leone can teach a lot about writing. From characterization to plotting to more, spaghetti westerns hold plenty that should be considered when one is writing fiction.
- Interesting characters are key.
- Keep the main plot simple. Anything else just muddles things up.
- Even minor characters can be interesting.
- Don’t be boring.
- In this world there’s two types of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.
- Often it’s the build-up to the violence that’s more interesting.
- If you write about people using guns, know your guns.
- If you’re writing about a historical period, know your history.
- Being over-the-top can be fun, but it has to make sense within the context of the story.
- Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money.
- The pacing of the plot can be slow, but it must never be dull.
- The unexpected can liven up a story, but it must be believable.
- Sub plots can heighten the reader’s fun and interest, but must not take over the tale.
- Music can make a story. Difficult to work into writing, true, but not impossible. Depends upon the story one is telling. Sometimes music can be mentioned.
- The question isn’t discreet, but the answer could be.
- Minor characters don’t have to be named to stand out.
- Sometimes a change of viewpoint can help a story, from looking at characters or objects from a distance to close-up and back again.
- When action happens, it happens very, very quickly. Brevity of words often works best with action scenes.
- There doesn’t have to be a lot of dialogue to get a character’s point across.
- People with ropes around their necks don’t always hang.
- Some characters are good.
- Some are bad.
- Some are ugly.
- Rarely is a character only one of these things.
- Every gun makes its own tune.
- If a deadly object such as a gun or noose appears in a scene, it had better be used. Don’t try to fake out the reader. They won’t be happy.
- A little comedy can liven up a story.
- Good guys don’t have to be angelic.
- Just not as bad as the bad guys.
- When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with the pistol will be a dead man.
- Complicated back stories can confuse things.
- Beat up on the hero.
- Really, really hard.
- Gunfights usually are over quickly, not lasting hours. There are exceptions to this rule, but rare.
- After a meal, there’s nothing like a good cigar.
- Make the bad guys tougher than the hero.
- Or at least make them seem to be tougher than the hero.
- But tough good guys can work, too.
- Themes shouldn’t hit the reader over the head, but should lay gently upon the background of the story.
- When two hunters go after the same prey, they usually end up shooting each other in the back.
- Violence is violence. It’s bloody work. Don’t sugarcoat it. But you don’t have to get all bloody either, unless you’re writing horror. Readers will get the point.
- Dialogue doesn’t have to be lengthy to say a lot.
- If you’re writing an epic, pretend your characters are gods walking the Earth. They will come off that much stronger.
- If you’re writing about people who ride horses, at least know the basics about horses.
- Sometimes the dead can be more useful than the living.
- Violence can seem more extreme if it’s cut short than if it’s drug out for a long period. But that really depends upon how it’s written.
- Sometimes there are no good guys.
- Epic tales should be exactly that, epic.
- Non-epic tales should be exactly that, not epic.
- When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk.
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