How to Write a Western

If you've ever dreamed of vast open plains, standoffs at high noon, or outlaws with mysterious pasts, you might be drawn to the Western. And you're not alone! Westerns have captivated readers for generations with their blend of rugged landscapes, moral complexity, and stories of survival and justice.

But writing a Western isn’t just about tossing a cowboy hat on your character and calling it a day. To write a truly compelling story in this genre, you need a strong understanding of the setting, themes, characters, and tropes that define it, along with the storytelling craft to bring it all to life. Whether classic homage or a bold reimagining, this post will walk you through the key elements you’ll need to write a Western that rides tall in the saddle.

What is a Western?

A Western is a genre of fiction that typically takes place in the American West during the late 18th and 19th centuries. It often features elements such as cowboys, pioneers, outlaws, gunfights, rugged landscapes, exploring the western frontier, and themes of justice and survival. The genre gained popularity in the early 20th century through novels, films, and television shows, such as The Virginian by Owen Wister and Stagecoach, directed by John Ford. 

At its heart, the Western is about the frontier. That frontier might be the literal untamed West of 19th-century America—or it might be a symbolic or even futuristic space where rules are being written, challenged, or broken. Traditional Westerns usually involve small towns, open wilderness, horses, and gunslingers, but the deeper appeal lies in the tension between civilization and chaos, justice and revenge, freedom and survival.

Whether you’re writing a historical Western or a Western-inspired sci-fi or fantasy, understanding the genre’s roots helps you decide which traditions you want to honor and which ones you want to subvert.

Elements of the Western genre

So, what makes a story feel like an authentic Western? Here are the elements that tend to define the genre:

Setting: From dusty trails and remote canyons to saloons and homesteads, the Western setting should feel vast, raw, and untamed. Nature is a character here—beautiful, dangerous, and indifferent.

Characters: Think lone gunslingers, sheriffs with a code, settlers trying to build a better life, or outlaws with nothing left to lose. But remember, clichés can fall flat! Your characters still need complexity, motivation, and change.

Conflict: Westerns often pit man against man (showdowns), man against nature (survival), or man against society (justice, revenge, or rebellion). The stakes are usually life and death, with characters forced to make tough choices.

Tone: Gritty, somber, tense, or contemplative, tone is everything in a Western. You’re often dealing with themes of isolation, morality, violence, and redemption, so the atmosphere should reflect that.

How to use tropes in a contemporary Western

Tropes aren’t inherently bad. In fact, they can give readers the satisfying structure and flavor they’re craving. But you don’t want your Western to feel like a copy-paste of every story that came before. Here are a few familiar tropes to consider and ways you can make them your own:

• The Lone Gunfighter: A classic hero, often haunted by his past. You can keep this trope but dig into why he’s alone, or flip it and make your protagonist someone new to violence and justice. 
• The Lawless Town: A setting begging for order—or a rebellion against corrupt authority. Maybe your “lawless” town isn’t what it seems, or the real villains wear badges.
• The Duel at High Noon: This is your Western’s dramatic centerpiece, but it doesn’t have to be guns drawn. A verbal confrontation, a strategic stand-off, or an emotional reckoning can carry just as much weight.
• Manifest Destiny and the Frontier Myth: Many classic Westerns romanticize expansion and conquest. A modern Western might critique this idea, explore its impact on Indigenous communities, or highlight environmental consequences.

Western subgenres to explore

Not all Westerns look the same. Here are just a few types you might want to explore:

• Traditional Western: Rooted in historical settings and classic themes of justice, revenge, and survival.
• Revisionist Western: More morally complex, often questioning the ideals of the traditional Western.
• Weird Western: Mix supernatural or horror elements (think zombies in the American frontier).
• Space Western: Set in a frontier-like future or alternate universe, such as in the TV shows Firefly or The Mandalorian.
• Neo-Western: Set in modern times but with the same grit and moral tension as classic Westerns (the film No Country for Old Men is a great example).
• Contemporary Western romance: Combines rural settings and themes with love stories, often set on ranches or in small towns and featuring cowboys, rodeos, and a healthy dose of longing.

These subgenres give you flexibility. You can even mix and match them to create something unique and truly yours.

Tips for writing a Western

Do your research

Even if you're crafting a stylized or alternate version of the West, make sure your world feels grounded. If you're setting your story in a real time or place, research the details—everything from guns and gear to cultural attitudes and historical events. Dive into the past to enrich your narrative with authentic tidbits and captivating nuggets of history. Talk to historians, watch documentaries, and read other books set in the Wild West during different eras. Use what you learn as inspiration to add layers and complexity to your characters, settings, and even create brilliant plot twists. Ensure that the clothing, architecture, and slang match the era your western is set in to immerse your readers in the world.

Embrace moral ambiguity

Western stories thrive on moral ambiguity. Your characters should face tough choices where there’s no obvious “right” answer. What are they willing to sacrifice for justice or survival? 

Think about what your main character believes in. Are they trying to do the right thing in a corrupt town? Do they live by the gun but want something more? Are they out for revenge, but haunted by the violence it takes to get it? You want your characters to be as complex as we are, wrestling with their own motivations, challenges, and dilemmas. This is what truly brings them to life and makes them relatable. 

Don’t forget to grant your characters the space to grow and evolve. They need to confront their wounds, reckon with their flaws and mistakes, and maybe find redemption. Giving your characters internal conflict alongside the external shootouts and standoffs adds depth to your Western and resonates long after the dust settles.

Lean into the landscape

The American West is iconic, but that doesn’t mean your story has to take place there, or even in the 1800s. Westerns are more about atmosphere and moral landscape than a specific location or time period. That said, the setting still matters. Whether it’s wide-open plains, gold rush towns, snowy mountains, desert borderlands, or high-tech space frontiers, your setting should be rich in mood and tied closely to your story’s themes.

Take The Revenant, for instance, which is set in the icy wilderness of the 1820s frontier. It uses the harshness of nature to underscore its protagonist’s struggle for survival and revenge. On the flip side, Firefly takes place in space, but it’s a Western through and through: ragtag crew, lawless worlds, and personal codes of honor.

No matter where or when your Western unfolds, make the setting feel lived in. Think about the smells, the weather, the sounds of boots on wooden floors or the whistle of wind through canyon walls. Use these details to transport your readers to your untamed frontier!

Build tension

Westerns aren’t all shootouts and stampedes, but when the action comes, it should hit hard. What makes a Western truly gripping is the slow burn that leads up to those moments. Think about the way traditional Westerns increase tension and suspense: a dusty street at high noon, two figures squaring off, fingers twitching near their holsters. The suspense comes not from action alone, but from anticipation.

To bring this kind of tension to your novel, focus on pacing and stakes. Give your characters difficult choices, moral gray zones, and impossible odds. Even in quieter scenes (maybe your protagonist is patching up a wound or watching a rival approach from across the saloon), keep the tension simmering beneath the surface. Ask yourself: What’s at risk emotionally, not just physically?

For example, in Patrick deWitt's Western novel The Sisters Brothers, much of the story unfolds in long, thoughtful conversations and internal reflection, but there’s an ever-present threat of violence and betrayal. The tension lingers because readers never quite know what’s coming next or who can be trusted.

Use sharp, economical prose when writing tense scenes. Shorter sentences, lean descriptions, and strong verbs all contribute to a sense of urgency. When the moment of action finally arrives, it’ll feel earned—and satisfying.

Reimagine the archetypes

The Western genre is full of familiar faces: the stoic sheriff, the rugged rancher, the mysterious drifter. These archetypes are part of what makes Westerns so recognizable, but that doesn’t mean you have to play them straight.

Some of the best Westerns challenge the traditional expectations. Maybe your sheriff is corrupt, more interested in power than justice (Deadwood gives us more than one lawman who blurs the line). Maybe your antihero is trying to retire, struggling to leave a violent past behind like William Munny in Unforgiven. Or your protagonist is a cyborg bounty hunter tracking criminals across a Martian frontier.

A great example of this is Godless, a limited series that features a town run almost entirely by women after a mining disaster wipes out the male population. The Western dynamics are still there (power struggles, shootouts, outlaws) but told from a perspective that breathes new life into the genre. 

You don’t have to abandon the archetypes; just give them layers. Ask what they want, what they fear, and what makes them different from every other version that came before.

Ready to write Western fiction?

The Western may be an old genre, but it’s far from outdated. It’s a flexible, emotionally rich space for stories about identity, justice, survival, and what it means to live by a code—even when the world around you is falling apart.

So whether you’re inspired by John Wayne classics or modern, genre-bending tales, writing a Western gives you the chance to tap into timeless themes while blazing your own trail. Dust off your saddle, grab your metaphorical six-shooter, and get writing.