If I hear myself stumble, I fix it. I find that when I pay close attention to the prose my story rings true. Widdermaker is an original Southwest tall tale. And in tall tale fashion it tells the story of Cowpoke Peter taming the biggest, meanest orneriest bull the West has ever seen. In the process, some prominent geographic features get created.
Tall tales are fun to write.
America is a natural backdrop for the development of tall tales. The height of her mountains, the breadth of her rivers and the size of her forests were fuel for the development of characters who could survive natural perils. From the time of the settlers, stories about those characters took shape. Storytellers exaggerated the stories and passed them along orally. Tall tales are American folklore.