NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY—Who Knew? By Connie Vines

NATIONAL DAY OF THE COWBOY

National Day of the Cowboy is observed annually on the fourth Saturday in July here in the United States (July 27th).

I write western novels, shouldn't I have been aware of this fact?

However, I was not aware that a national day celebrated the western-working man.

Most of us are aware of how the era of the cowboy came to be.

The era of the cowboy began after the Civil War in the heart of Texas.  Cattle were herded long before this time, but in Texas, they grew wild and unchecked.  As the country expanded, the demand for beef in the northern territories and states increased. With nearly 5 million head of cattle, cowboys moved the herds on long drives to where the profits were.

The draw of riches and adventure mixed with tales of violence and a backdrop of the Great Plains gave way to the mythological image of the cowboy.

Where the dust settles reveal much of the stoic truth of the American cowboy and cowgirl. The life of a cowboy required a particular ability to live in a frontier world.  To do so requires respect, loyalty and a willingness to work hard.

In the words of the former President Bush (Texan), “We celebrate the Cowboy as a symbol of the grand history of the American West. The Cowboy’s love of the land and love of the country are examples for all Americans.”

HOW TO OBSERVE

To quote snippet of one of my reviews: “Everyone loves a cowboy!”

 Celebrate with a cowboy you know and post on social media using #NationalDayOfTheCowboy.  Enjoy a western novel or movie, attend a rodeo and embrace the cowboy way of life.
Learn to dance the Texas-Two-Step.  Sing a cowboy song or two.

HISTORY

According to the National Day of the Cowboy Organization, this day “…is a day set aside to celebrate the contributions of the Cowboy and Cowgirl to America’s culture and heritage.” The NDOC continuously pursues national recognition of National Day of the Cowboy.  The first celebration was in 2005. 

CELEBRATING LIKE A COWBOY

Having a few friends over to celebrate the event? Or need a fun activity to share with your children?

Here are a few ideas:

• Texas-Size Art contest
• Cowboy Celebration Parade
• Watermelon Eating Contests
• Most Worn-Out Boot Contest
• Best Mustache Contest (Home-grown, or Make-your-own)
• Rib Eating Contest
• Cowboy Karaoke Contest
• Cattle Drive (City Folk will improvise: dogs, cats, stuffed animals) 
“Round’em up, move'em-out!

To end your day of celebration, or while sitting around a camp fire you can enjoy a cup of coffee.

Cowboy Coffee

Out on the trail, coffee was a staple among cowboys. Piping hot coffee helped a cowboy shake off the stiffness from sleeping on the hard desert ground, and it was also a good beverage to wash down the morning sour dough biscuits.  But cowboys didn’t have the luxury of fancy coffee brewers or French presses. They had to pack light, so all they usually had was a metal coffee pot, sans filter, to brew their coffee in. No matter. A cowboy could still make a decent cup of coffee.

Bring water to a near boil over your campfire.

Throw your coffee grounds right into the water. That’s right. Filters are for city slickers.

Stir the coffee over the fire for a minute or two.

Remove the pot from the fire and let the coffee sit for a minute or two to allow the grounds to settle at the bottom of the pot. Add a bit of cold water to help speed along the settling process.

Carefully pour the coffee into your tin cup so that the grounds stay in the pot.

Stand around the fire with your left thumb in your belt loop and your coffee cup in your right hand. Take slow sips and meditate on the trek ahead.

Looking for a way to celebrate National Cowboy day?  Why not spend the day, or two, with a rodeo cowboy?

Stop by Brede's ranch and spend a night under the stars:

What woman doesn't love a cowboy?  Lynx Maddox will gallop into your heart.  Just you, and Lynx Maddox under that star-filled Montana sky!

Books We Love

More Shopping Links:

Lynx, Rodeo Romance

Brede

Happy National Day of the Cowboy!

Connie

Flash Fiction/ Story Bites by Connie Vines

What exactly is Flash Fiction?  What the heck are story bites?

Flash Fiction: Stories under 2,000 words. ... Part poetry, part narrative, flash fiction–also known as sudden fiction, micro fiction, short-short stories, and quick fiction—is a genre that is deceptively complex. At the same time, writing these short shorts can be incredibly rewarding.

Why my sudden interests in Flash Fiction?

My writing career began in monthly publications.  I wrote children’s and YA fiction for the magazine market.  I also wrote a monthly column about the budding tech industry and nonfiction articles on various subjects.  This is why Flash Fiction intrigued me.  I knew I could use my Flash Fiction stories to tease my readers, much like my book trailers.  I also knew it would be a simple way for me to keep me from developing writer’s block.

Also, I knew I would be able to write in a new genre, or write about a subject which might not hold my interest long enough to write 60,000+ words.

Here are a few specific tricks (yes, it’s almost Halloween) and also a writing exercise about how to write flash fiction.

1. Take out all unnecessary words.

Practice on Twitter.  I speak from experience. Nothing shows you how to whittle down a sentence to the key elements better than Twitter. Pretend you only get one single solitary tweet to get the idea across. Can you do it?

Try this writing exercise and redo this sentence:

• Pretend you only get one single solitary tweet to get the idea across convey your idea.
• Pretend you only get one tweet to convey your idea.
Look, I just saved 3 words by editing that sentence. That’s GOLD in flash!

2. You don’t need all those adjectives and adverbs.

Use stronger nouns and verbs to do all the heavy lifting. For example, don’t say ‘walk leisurely’ when you can say ‘saunter’. Don’t say ‘small dog’ when you can say ‘Chihuahua’. Your specificity will build a better story with a smaller word count. The exception is for dialogue tags. You’re better off just using “said”, as other verbs related to speech tend to be distracting.

3. Pick a key emotion to color the story.

Readers love it when they feel something.

4. Pick a strong image.

Give us a meaningful and memorable visual. You want a movie example? Indiana Jones shoots the fancy swordsman in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

Or come up with your own favorite.  “Bell, Book, and Candle” when Kim Novak (a witch) falls in love with James Steward (a mortal) and becomes a mortal herself.

Now do that with words.

5. Limit your number of scenes.

Honestly, one scene might be best. Though I usually have two or three scenes. The key is choosing a small but powerful moment in a character’s life and placing your story there.

It’s the anti-epic story.

6. No more than one or two characters.
More than that and it gets difficult. Too much dialogue; too many interactions.
While twelve dancing princesses is suitable for a short story or novel.

One dancing princess is suitable for flash fiction.

7. You’re better off using a 1st person or 3rd person limited points of view which stick tightly to the protagonist.

Pick just one point of view for a short story and utilize that throughout. Head hopping and third person omniscient is too jarring in flash fiction.

8. Use a small idea.

Big ideas belong in BIG stories.

9. The same goes for a short story theme: you only have room for one.

10. Focus on one main conflict.

11. Start in the middle of the story, at the beginning of the conflict.

12. Yes, you must still have a character arc.

13. Choose an effective title.

Just like on a date, or job interview--First Impressions Count.

Don’t forget, writing in a new medium takes practice!

Let’s take this new genre for a Halloween Test Drive.  Let’s use six words or less to describe a picture.


But I’m scared of the dark

Can you feel the music?

Happy Halloween Everyone!

For a little not too scary Halloween Fun, download my novella, “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”.

Visit my personal blog site on 10/27/2018 for Halloween party treat recipes  and story teasers!

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