--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By all the rules of modern fiction there…" description: "\"“By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been gunsmoke mingling its acrid blue with the brown haze of corral dust. Dead men should have fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png" --- # By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been… ![“By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been gunsmoke mingling its acrid blue with the brown haze of corral dust. Dead men should have fallen and been trampled... Nothing of this sort happened.” quote by B.M. Bower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png) > ““By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been gunsmoke mingling its acrid blue with the brown haze of corral dust. Dead men should have fallen and been trampled... Nothing of this sort happened.”” B.M. Bower ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrative subverts typical Western tropes, noting the absence of gunfights and dust, suggesting a quieter, unexpected story. **In simple terms:** The story lacks typical Western gunfights and dust. Key Takeaway Expect a different, less violent Western tale. Themes Embrace genre subversion and surprise. Mood surprised thoughtful curious Type literary analytical creative When to use this quote - writing Westerns - storytelling - genre expectations - creative twists Key Concepts genre subversion Western tropes expectation narrative style Questions to Reflect On - How does breaking genre expectations affect you? - What alternative elements can replace typical gunfights? A Different Perspective Fans of classic Westerns may feel disappointed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [I too shall lie in the dust when I am dead, but now let me win noble renown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/i-too-shall-lie-in-the-dust-when-i-am-dead-but-now-let-me-win-noble/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Maybe we're all the living dead, reconstituted from the dust of the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/maybe-we-re-all-the-living-dead-reconstituted-from-the-dust-of-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I've been forgotten here. Left alone talking to lightning storms, studying the mysterious patterns the dust of dead people makes as it floats through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-hunt/i-ve-been-forgotten-here-left-alone-talking-to-lightning-storms/) [Samantha Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-hunt/) > [“For the entire AEF, the campaigns at Cantigny, Belleau Wood, Château-Thierry, and the Ourcq started to approach the bloodletting of past western front battles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/for-the-entire-aef-the-campaigns-at-cantigny-belleau-wood-ch-teau/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [I tell girls all the time that the men that have fallen in love with me, have all fallen during a man repeller stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-roy/i-tell-girls-all-the-time-that-the-men-that-have-fallen-in-love-with/) [Rachel Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-roy/) > [Every new stroke of civilization has cost the lives of countless brave men, who have fallen defeated by the dragon, in their efforts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/every-new-stroke-of-civilization-has-cost-the-lives-of-countless/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“I am made of death. I am the Great Leveller. I am the storm in the High Places.” The Bloody-Nine’s voice, but it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/i-am-made-of-death-i-am-the-great-leveller-i-am-the-storm-in-the-high/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Who waite for dead men shall goe long barefoote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/who-waite-for-dead-men-shall-goe-long-barefoote/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [In the middle of nowhere, along a quiet stretch of road, the diner dreamt of the hungry dead. And of two men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lee-martinez/in-the-middle-of-nowhere-along-a-quiet-stretch-of-road-the-diner/) [A. Lee Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lee-martinez/) > [“I am now about to enter on my normal condition. For people are almost always in their graves. When we survey the long race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-am-now-about-to-enter-on-my-normal-condition-for-people-are-almost/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Nothing is worth anything to dead men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arya/nothing-is-worth-anything-to-dead-men/) [Arya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arya/) > [“I am the dumb, the wild, the things now dead / That men have killed for being mute and strange”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrud-kolmar/i-am-the-dumb-the-wild-the-things-now-dead-that-men-have-killed-for/) [Gertrud Kolmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrud-kolmar/) > [And he that will this health deny, down among the dead men let him lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/and-he-that-will-this-health-deny-down-among-the-dead-men-let-him-lie/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [Dead men tell no tales, Mary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dead-men-tell-no-tales-mary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More by B.M. Bower > [“When you think of it, people may rub elbows and still have an ocean or two between them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/when-you-think-of-it-people-may-rub-elbows-and-still-have-an-ocean-or/) B.M. Bower > [“Use your head for something more than to give your hat a ride, can't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/use-your-head-for-something-more-than-to-give-your-hat-a-ride-can-t/) B.M. Bower Explore all 3 B.M. Bower quotes ## More Fiction writing quotes > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [Once you're imagining being the main character, and you're having the conversations and actually being there, the magic in fiction writing takes over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hobbs/once-you-re-imagining-being-the-main-character-and-you-re-having-the/) [Will Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hobbs/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/and-then-i-met-jerry-and-he-s-such-a-creative-fiction-writer-and-i/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil-but there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/rejection-slips-or-form-letters-however-tactfully-phrased-are/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The advice would be the same for any kind of fiction. Keep writing, and keep sending things out, not to friends and relatives, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-advice-would-be-the-same-for-any-kind-of-fiction-keep-writing-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/science-fiction-writers-i-am-sorry-to-say-really-do-not-know-anything/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“He was always crazy about her. If he was a king then she was his crest– the emblem of his kingdom. Without her, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atri-cruizer/he-was-always-crazy-about-her-if-he-was-a-king-then-she-was-his-crest/) Atri Cruizer > [“Reading is fuel for the brain. Writing is fuel for the spirit...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-s-johnston/reading-is-fuel-for-the-brain-writing-is-fuel-for-the-spirit/) Megan S. Johnston > [Fiction writing and journalism, in my experience, are really excellent training grounds for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-hesse/fiction-writing-and-journalism-in-my-experience-are-really-excellent/) [Monica Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-hesse/) > [“Personally I like the English style better. It is not quite so brittle, and the people as a rule, just wear clothes and drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/personally-i-like-the-english-style-better-it-is-not-quite-so-brittle/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/in-everything-that-can-be-called-art-there-is-a-quality-of-redemption/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Browse all 199 Fiction writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been gunsmoke mingling its acrid blue with the brown haze of corral dust. Dead men should have fallen and been trampled... Nothing of this sort happened.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B.M. Bower" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there-should-have-been-gunsmoke/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there-should-have-been-gunsmoke/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/b-m-bower-82183_fiction-writing_by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there_3124449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By all the rules of modern fiction there should have been gunsmoke mingling its acrid blue with the brown…” — B.M. Bower", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "B.M. Bower", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-m-bower/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“By all the rules of modern...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there-should-have-been-gunsmoke/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-m-bower/by-all-the-rules-of-modern-fiction-there-should-have-been-gunsmoke/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```