You probably know the movie. Most people do. It swept the Oscars in 1991, turned Kevin Costner into a permanent Hollywood icon, and changed how mainstream America looked at the frontier. But the man behind the curtain, the actual author of Dances with Wolves, was a guy named Michael Blake. And honestly? His path to success was a total train wreck for a long time.
Blake wasn't some high-flying literary darling. He was a struggling screenwriter living in a car. Literally. He was penniless, crashing on couches, and basically losing his mind trying to get Hollywood to care about a story that everyone told him was dead on arrival. They called it a "dead genre." Westerns were supposed to be over. They were something your grandpa watched on a grainy TV while falling asleep in a recliner.
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But Blake didn't care. He had this specific vision of a Civil War soldier named John Dunbar who finds himself by losing himself in the vastness of the Lakota Sioux culture. He wrote it as a screenplay first. Nobody wanted it. Then, at the urging of his friend—a then-unknown actor named Kevin Costner—he turned it into a novel. Even then, the "author of Dances with Wolves" faced a wall of "no." He went through over 30 rejections. Imagine that. Thirty publishers told him his story about the American frontier was worthless.
The Hard Truth About Michael Blake’s Struggle
Success wasn't a straight line for Blake. It was more like a jagged, painful heartbeat. When he finally found a small publisher (Fawcett Gold Medal) to release the book as a paperback original in 1988, it didn't exactly set the world on fire. It was just a quiet book with a modest cover. But Blake’s writing had something different. It wasn't the "cowboys and Indians" trope we grew up with. It was deeply empathetic. It was about the loss of a world.
Most people don't realize that the author of Dances with Wolves spent years studying the history of the Great Plains. He wasn't just guessing. He lived in Arizona, immersed himself in the atmosphere of the West, and developed a profound respect for Native American history that was, frankly, ahead of its time for a commercial novelist in the late 80s.
Blake’s prose is weirdly rhythmic. It’s sparse. Sometimes he writes sentences that feel like a punch to the gut, and other times he lingers on the way the wind hits the grass. He didn't use the flowery, over-the-top language of 19th-century imitation novels. He kept it raw. That's why it worked. That's why, when Costner finally got the leverage to make the movie, the source material was so strong it couldn't be ignored.
Beyond the Buffalo: Blake’s Life After the Oscar
When the movie exploded, Blake’s life flipped upside down. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He went from being a guy who couldn't afford a burger to a man holding a gold statue. But being the author of Dances with Wolves became a bit of a golden cage.
He wrote a sequel, The Holy Road, which is actually a much darker, more somber look at the decline of the Comanches and the Lakota. It’s not the sweeping adventure the first book was. It’s a tragedy. It deals with the grim reality of the reservation system and the end of a way of life. If you’ve only seen the movie, reading The Holy Road is like a cold bucket of water to the face. It’s necessary reading, but it’s heavy.
Blake was also a massive advocate for wild horses. He spent a huge chunk of his post-fame life and money trying to protect the American Mustang. He wrote a book called Wild Horse Annie and basically became a full-time activist. He wasn't just a writer who liked the "aesthetic" of the West; he actually cared about the land and the animals. He lived it.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Story
There’s this common criticism now—the "White Savior" trope. People look back at the author of Dances with Wolves and accuse the story of being about a white guy coming in to save the day. But if you actually read Blake’s original text, the perspective is a bit more nuanced.
Dunbar isn't a savior. He’s a witness.
In Blake’s mind, Dunbar is the one being saved. He’s the one who is spiritually bankrupt and finds a community that actually makes sense. The Lakota aren't background characters in their own story; they are the mentors. Blake fought hard to ensure the film used Lakota dialogue, which was a massive gamble at the time. He wanted the audience to feel the "otherness" of the English language in that setting.
The Creative Process of a Maverick
Blake didn't follow the rules. He didn't have a literary agent for the longest time. He didn't go to MFA workshops. He just wrote from a place of obsession. He once said that he wrote the book because he "wanted to see it." He couldn't find the story he wanted to read, so he built it himself.
That’s the thing about the author of Dances with Wolves that sticks with you. He was a "loner" writer. He lived in places like Idaho and Arizona, far away from the New York publishing scene or the Hollywood parties. He stayed a bit of an outsider until he passed away in 2015.
Even his other works, like Airman Mortensen or Marching to Valhalla (which is a fascinating look at George Armstrong Custer), show this obsession with men on the edge of history. He liked characters who were caught between two worlds. He liked the friction of change.
How to Approach Michael Blake’s Work Today
If you're looking to dive into the world created by the author of Dances with Wolves, don't just stop at the DVD. The literature is where the real marrow is.
- Read the original novel first. The internal monologue of John Dunbar is way more complex than what you see on screen. You get a better sense of his isolation and his gradual transition into "Dances with Wolves."
- Track down "The Holy Road." If you want to see the "real" ending of the saga, this is it. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s historically grounded in the reality of the 1870s.
- Look into his non-fiction. Blake’s writing on wild horses is some of his most passionate work. It shows the man behind the fiction.
Michael Blake’s legacy isn't just a movie with a great soundtrack. It’s the story of a guy who refused to let a "dead genre" stay buried. He proved that if a story has enough heart and enough respect for its subject matter, it can bridge the gap between a car in a parking lot and the stage of the Kodak Theatre.
Actionable Steps for Readers and Aspiring Writers
If you’re inspired by the journey of the author of Dances with Wolves, there are a few things you can do to engage with his legacy or apply his "outsider" mentality to your own life.
Study the Source Material
Go to a used bookstore. Find a 1980s copy of the novel. Look at how Blake structures his chapters. They are short, cinematic, and punchy. It’s a masterclass in how to write a book that feels like a movie without losing its "literary" soul.
Research the Real History
Blake wasn't a historian, but he did his homework. To truly appreciate the work, read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. It was one of the books that heavily influenced Blake. Understanding the real-world context makes the fiction hit ten times harder.
Support Wild Horse Conservation
Since this was Blake’s life’s work outside of writing, looking into organizations like the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly AWHPC) is a great way to honor his memory. He believed the spirit of the West lived on in those animals.
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Write Your "Dead Genre"
If you're a creator, take a page from Blake’s book. If everyone tells you Westerns are dead, or physical media is dead, or long-form blogging is dead—ignore them. Blake was a homeless man with a script nobody wanted. He turned it into the biggest movie in the world because he refused to believe the genre was the problem. The problem is usually just a lack of heart.
The story of Michael Blake is basically a reminder that the world will eventually catch up to a good story, even if you have to wait in a parking lot for a few years for that to happen. He stayed true to the Lakota, he stayed true to the horses, and he stayed true to the characters that lived in his head long before they were on the big screen.