& Starships
Crafting Space Western Stories
Six-Shooters and Starships:
Comprehensive Guide to Crafting Space Western Stories
By Daniel P. Douglas
Where western dust meets stardust: The ultimate space western resource
You've watched The Mandalorian, enjoyed Firefly, and recognized Han Solo as a smuggler among the stars. Now master the art of creating and understanding the Space Western—the genre that transports humanity's oldest frontier narratives into the cosmos.
Why this guide changes everything:
Unlike limited writing guides that offer generic advice, this comprehensive volume delivers specialized knowledge across all elements of this unique hybrid genre. You'll gain:
- Deeper Understanding of how Space Westerns explore universal themes through their distinctive fusion of historical and futuristic elements
- Practical Techniques for creating memorable characters, authentic settings, and compelling conflicts that honor both Western tradition and science fiction innovation
- Historical Context showing how the genre evolved from simple genre mixing to sophisticated narratives addressing complex questions about expansion, technology, and cultural interaction
- Media-Specific Insights into how films, literature, games, and comics adapt Space Western conventions to their unique strengths
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Exclusive content you won't find elsewhere:
This guide goes beyond basic concepts to provide specialized supplements that transform abstract ideas into concrete storytelling tools:
- Detailed analyses of frontier weaponry evolution and cultural significance
- Comprehensive frameworks for designing believable settlements with authentic economic foundations
- In-depth exploration of transportation systems that define mobility across the cosmic frontier
- Extended prose examples demonstrating effective Space Western voice and atmosphere
Who needs this guide:
- Writers seeking to craft compelling Space Western narratives in any medium
- Game Designers building immersive frontier worlds beyond traditional settings
- Scholars examining how the genre reflects changing attitudes toward expansion and how we relate to those different from ourselves
- Fans desiring deeper appreciation of how favorite works connect to broader genre traditions
Six-Shooters and Starships
As we stand at the threshold of actual space exploration, the Space Western offers both entertainment and a framework for imagining the challenges and opportunities awaiting us among the stars.
So saddle up! Launch forth. Your cosmic frontier awaits.
“My characters are often what we call ordinary people. They just happen to find themselves on a collision course with destiny and taking courageous, extraordinary action.”
Daniel P. Douglas
More Books
Explore Daniel P. Douglas' other works, ranging from science fiction, conspiracy, mystery, suspense and thrillers.
Daniel P. Douglas
More than a Mystery & Suspense Author
Daniel P. Douglas enjoys writing pulse-pounding, edge-of-your seat science fiction, conspiracy, mystery, suspense, and thriller books and screenplays.
Born and raised in Southern California, Phillip moved to Arizona to attend college, and Paul moved to Virginia to further pursue his museum career. Both have travelled extensively across the United States and around the world. They now reside in New Mexico with their families and many pets.
About The Author
Daniel P. Douglas is the pen name for identical twins Phillip and Paul Garver.
Phillip is a U.S. Army veteran who also served as a senior analyst in the U.S. Intelligence Community. He retired from federal service in 2023.
Paul’s career includes over 30 years in the museum profession. He has worked for cultural and historic sites in California and Virginia, as well as for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. He currently works as a mental health counselor.
Phillip and Paul enjoy writing science fiction, conspiracy, mystery, suspense, and thriller books and short stories. Their characters are often ordinary people who tread into a collision course with destiny, where survival means confronting personal flaws and fighting for good in the eternal battle against evil.
Daniel P. Douglas has been named a Foreword Reviews 2014 IndieFab Book-of-the-Year Awards Science Fiction Finalist and is a Readers’ Favorite Award winner.
They explore this theme in a number of published works. Their first novel, Truth Insurrected: The Saint Mary Project, centered on a decades-old government cover-up of contact with extraterrestrial life. Coming in 2025, the first two books of their Space Western series, Wild Frontier Chronicles, will be released. Also arriving in 2025 will be the first volume of Tales from the Noir Side, an anthology of noir tales involving different characters, places, time periods, and even genres.
Their Richter’s War series blends sci-fi with hard-boiled intrigue in Los Angeles during World War II. Their first non-fiction endeavor, Six-Shooters and Starships: A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting Space Western Stories, explores the rich history of the Space Western genre in fiction and entertainment media.