Westerns...

[Cabby]

Hey guys, I need some help. Is it completely out of the question to have a western in modern English. You know how like Game of thrones is obviously not modern but they talk that way with slang and swears.

I'm writing a western and was wondering how I should approach this. If I should disregard it and write in modern English (which seems lazy), try to do a mix of English with old west slang despite it being inaccurate (f-words, structure of sentences).
Or would I just be better off completely researching the language and going for complete accuracy (even though the story itself is completely fictional and pulpy (ala Game of Thrones).

I know I should ask this elsewhere but I figured some people on here might have some good opinions.

Thanks ahead of time 👍

[Scottie]

You could make the protagonist modern and everyone else period-like.

[Hucksta G]

Originally Posted by Cabby

Hey guys, I need some help. Is it completely out of the question to have a western in modern English. You know how like Game of thrones is obviously not modern but they talk that way with slang and swears.

I'm writing a western and was wondering how I should approach this. If I should disregard it and write in modern English (which seems lazy), try to do a mix of English with old west slang despite it being inaccurate (f-words, structure of sentences).
Or would I just be better off completely researching the language and going for complete accuracy (even though the story itself is completely fictional and pulpy (ala Game of Thrones).

I know I should ask this elsewhere but I figured some people on here might have some good opinions.

Thanks ahead of time ��

Have you watched Deadwood? I would recommend.

[kpkelley]

It depends on the audience. Is this targeted towards people alive today or in the old west?

In all seriousness, you should keep the audience in mind. You could throw in a few of each(modern terms and old west terms), but going too far one way or the other will alienate members of the audience.

[qb2333]

Westerns are generally about a certain time period. You should probably research it a bit before you start. This is a good starting point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre)
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-slang.html
Make your own decision and be creative. Good luck

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Hucksta G

Have you watched Deadwood? I would recommend.

Pretty much what I was going to say.

Really all I can say is work out where your focus is, which Western genre you're going for. The studio westerns like John Wayne's stuff, spaghetti westerns, gritty modern westerns or stylish westerns. They all do dialogue quite differently and obviously watch a range of them so you know how different characters talk to one another. You've really got to know what you're doing inside and out so you've just got to get a full overview of what a Western can do, what it wants to do, and how you can possibly subvert and twist these ideas.

[toddly6666]

Just have them all speak with English accent - makes any script seem smarter than it is with British actors