Just finished
reading fellow Western Fictioneer Larry Sweazy’s The Gila Wars, the
(regrettably) last volume in his Josiah Wolfe Texas Ranger series. If anyone
wants to see a fine example of how to write a fine Texas Ranger novel, read any
of Larry’s Josiah Wolfe stories.
Which brings us to
the subject of today’s blog: How to write a Texas Ranger novel. I’m hardly an
expert on the subject; however, I’ve penned a few in my time, and have come up
with some pointers on what to and not to do. Quite a bit of what you’ll see
here is already known by most of us, but some will undoubtedly be new, and some
will bear repeating.
I’d like to say, to
begin, that a novel is fiction. Sounds stupid to say that, but with so many
people willing to nit-pick the smallest thing in a novel, it’s worth saying. Of
course you want to avoid major errors, but it’s perfectly all right to come up
with places, towns, and businesses that didn’t exist, and shift things around.
That’s why it’s fiction.
First, and most
important: Never, EVER have your Texas Ranger wearing a uniform. The Rangers
never have and never will wear uniforms. Putting your Ranger in a uniform is a
dead giveaway you have no idea about your subject.
Which brings us to
Second: Badges. Despite popular legend, the Rangers never officially adopted
badges until well into the 20th century. Yes, some Rangers did start
wearing badges in the late 1800s, but not all. As far as Rangers hand-carving
their badges from Mexican five or ten peso coins, that’s most likely untrue.
The more likely story is some men commissioned badges to be made.
Get past those first
two items which have tripped up many a writer of Ranger tales and you’re well
on your way.
Now for some other
thoughts and advice.
I personally would
say don’t write a novel with the main character being any of the more famous
frontier era Rangers, such as Big Foot Wallace, “Rip” Ford, Leander McNelly,
Jim Gillett, and such later Rangers as Bill McDonald or Frank Hamer. There’s
already been plenty written about them, plus there are plenty of people willing
to point out any error you make. If you want to use an actual historic Texas
Ranger figure as the main character in your novel, I would suggest using any of
the thousands of lesser-known Rangers. There are plenty to choose from. And in
most cases it’s hard for anyone to dispute anything you might write about any
of those lesser-known Rangers. You see, the Texas State Capitol burned down in
1881, and the flames destroyed most of the records of the early Rangers. So
quite often you can take your actual Ranger and put him (yes, him, no female
Rangers until the 1970s) in any setting you wish, and describe him however you’d
like.
Which brings us to
research. Obviously, the loss of those records dealt a severe blow to
researching the Rangers prior to 1881. However, it may be difficult, but it’s
not impossible. One of the best sources is the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and
Museum in Waco. They have the most complete records in existence of the Texas
Rangers and their members from the organization’s founding to the present day,
and are more than happy to help writers, researchers, and historians. Depending
on how much information you want, there can be a fee, but as a source the
Museum can be invaluable.
And of course there
are plenty of books which can give you a ton of information. Walter Prescott
Webb’s classic history of the Rangers is probably the most well-known. Others
who have written excellent histories of the Rangers include Charles Robinson
III, Robert Utley, and Michael Cox. Cox’s series of Texas Ranger Tales books
includes both verified and possibly apocryphal tales, all of which are highly
entertaining. A true story from his Texas Rangers Tales II is the basis for my
forthcoming entry in the WF West of the Big River Series, The Ranger.
Mr. Cox was gracious enough to grant me permission to use his work.
Also, don’t forget
some of the overlooked resources available to the modern writer, resources
which didn’t exist fifty, even twenty or thirty years ago.
One of my most
valuable go-to sources is the simplest of all: The excellent annual Texas State
Travel Guide put out by the Texas Department of Transportation, along with its
accompanying road map. If you need basic information about nearly any community
in Texas, it’s in there. One especially important piece of information included
in the city entries is the founding date. That’s one thing anyone writing a
novel set in frontier Texas needs to be especially careful about. Many towns in
Texas that folks assume have been there since the days of the Texas Republic
simply weren’t. For example, say you want to set your Texas Ranger story in the
Texas Panhandle, in the year 1881. You start off your book by having your
Ranger ride into Lubbock. Uh-uh. Lubbock wasn’t founded until 1909. Okay, we’ll
move the story down to Amarillo. Again, wrong. Amarillo was founded in 1887. I’ve
been tripped up once or twice in this area, or nearly so. So have some other
writers I could mention, including some native Texans. A quick glance at the
Texas State Travel Guide for the town you want to use will let you know if it
existed at the time frame of your story. Saves a lot of grief later. And the
road map can give you a basic idea of distances between points, which fools a
lot of folks. Texas is a lot bigger than most people realize.
While I’ve been to
Texas a number of times, and have been through most of the state, I can’t
claim, like Louis L’Amour liked to brag about his settings (his claims were
exaggerated, by the way) that if there’s a place in my story I’ve been there.
However, if I haven’t, and need to get a good look at the landscape and
geography of the area, I just go to Google street view. Bounce the little
yellow guy around the roads in the territory where your story is set and you’ll
get a good idea of what it looks like, good enough so your geographical descriptions
will be accurate. After all, you don’t want to have high, pine covered
mountains if your story is set in far south Texas. Another advantage of Google
maps is if you need an idea of how far your character has to ride from one
point to another, get the directions from Google maps. The mileage won’t be the
same as a hundred and fifty years ago, when the roads which existed were dirt
and much less direct, but with what Google provides you can work out a good
idea of how far your character would have to travel.
It’s also helpful to
have friends who know the Rangers, plus others who know things you may not. I
count on my buddy retired Texas Ranger Jim Huggins for a lot of background on
the Rangers. Then, I count on my friends Karl Rehn and Penny Riggs for
information about weapons of the period I’m writing about. My knowledge of
firearms is limited, so their help is invaluable. So if you have anyone who can
help your research, cultivate that resource. Give them credit in your book, and
you’ll find most folks are eager to help.
So there you have
it. Get your basic knowledge of Texas, write a story with plenty of action,
ridin’, and shootin’, and you’ve got your Texas Ranger novel. With the Rangers
being one of the most legendary law enforcement agencies ever, and with lots of
people still being fascinated by the Rangers and their history, you’ve already
got a ready-made base audience. However, when it comes to marketing that book,
you’re on your own. If I could solve that problem I’d be rich and retired.
