Our Favorite Tropes

The Western genre has its tropes, for better or worse; gunfights, saloons, the open range. There are those that make us cringe (twirling revolvers around on the index finger), and others that elicit laughter (think Don Knotts and the oasis mirage).

My own personal favorite is a long list, and it starts with something quintessentially Western: the sense of possibility.

It’s there in almost any L’Amour Western. You can find it in Elmore Leonard and Glendon Swarthout, it’s in Butcher’s Crossing and Blood Meridian, it’s in epic literary fiction and it’s tucked into dimestore Westerns… it’s everywhere. The idea that just around the next bend in the trail you’ll find the answer to your problems, escape from danger, the love of your life. It’s possibility. Endless possibility.

I’m particularly attracted to the possibility of riches and romance. I love gold mines, hidden gold, buried treasure. I like women that are strong and beautiful, and the idea that somewhere out there in that vast open expanse of the western frontier there might be a woman waiting for just the right man to come along.

To list each Western trope that I find captivating would leave you scratching your head, so I’ll list just a few.

The cattle drive; the longer the better.

The fast draw; not historically true, but when written well it’s sublime.

The desert; my favorite setting.

The anti-hero; no startched collars here. Just sweat and trail dust.

Wagon trains; what an incredible setup for possibilities.

Boomtowns; they go hand in hand with gold and treasure.

Winter; more westerns should take place in the snow.

Eastern dandies; they make great shmucks and villians.

Stagecoaches; folks of all backgrounds and social classes trapped together.

Saloons; who doesn’t love these?

Campfires; I love campfires in books, and campfires in real life. I hope you do too.