For me, one author stands out slightly ahead of the pack and that is Elmer Kelton. He was the first author who really challenged me to look at the characters over the action. He takes the simplest story lines and makes them seep with passion and emotion through the character's hopes, fears, ambitions and regrets. There are not simple black hat and white hat characters in a Kelton story. He lets the flaws of his characters show and it brings them down to earth and they are relatable to all of us. Sometimes you might find yourself rooting for both sides of an issue. Some of his most unforgettable characters are Hewey Calloway, Rusty Shannon, Charlie Flagg and so many more.
Even though I never got a chance to meet him, Elmer Kelton is my writing mentor. I have spent hours and hours listening to the talks he gave on writing. Listening to them over and over again, picking up some new nuggets of information on writing and storytelling. I think one of my favorite bits of information is taking on a historical topic that has not been done to death and incorporating that into a story. Taking on the idea of change and how that could impact characters of a different time and how they might prosper to the change or simply resist the change.
Hewey Callaway is my favorite Elmer Kelton character. I love the freedom and confidence that Hewey displays, even when it gets him into trouble. I watched The Good Old Boys when I was a kid and thought, this story is boring, because I wanted to know why there was no gunfight in the movie. As I grew up and actually started reading Elmer Kelton, it became quite clear to me that, even though I love me a good western shootout(still so to this day), that is not where the story lies. The story is in the characters and their individual pursuits. Today, The Good Old Boys is one of my all time favorite western movies and I love the continuing Hewey Callaway series.
A couple years ago, I was able to travel to San Angelo and go to The Cactus Book Store which has the largest display of Elmer Kelton books I have ever seen. I easily spent a lot of money on signed books, and news articles written by him. From there, I went to the mural of Elmer Kelton and then to the Stephen Central Library that has a sculpture of him and another large section of his books. Finally, after lunch at Twisted Root, I stopped by Elmer Kelton's grave, to pay my respects. He has taught me a lot and even though he had already gone to be with the Lord, he has taught me so much about the craft of writing.
In wrapping this up I strongly recommend if you haven't already, getting an Elmer Kelton book and getting lost in it. A couple favorites of hand are his"Texas Rangers" series, "Slaughter", "The Far Canyon", "Cloudy In The West", "Six Bits A Day" "Time It Never Rained", "The Wolf and The Buffalo" and "Joe Pepper" to name a few.
That is it for me for this months Western Perspective. I hope you all have a great week 🤠
Thank you, Ben.
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