How to Write Pulp Fiction (Bell on Writing)

by James Scott Bell

Type hard refers to the mindset of the pulpster. It’s an attitude that says, I’m charging ahead. I don’t care about the obstacles. I don’t give a rip about the odds. I haven’t got the time or the interest to think about the “cant’s.” Writing is what I do, so I do it.

That’s what typing hard means. The iron will to succeed. Have you got it? That’s the first requirement of the pulp writer.

•If you don’t write to a quota, I have no sympathy for you. •If you don’t pay at least some attention to the market, I think you’re daft. •If you don’t try to get better at your craft, you’d be better off as a plumber, and the sooner the better. •If you want to make it, keep working. And the work never stops! Are you willing to sign on as a pulp writer? Good. Let’s set up some conditions for success.

THE WRITER MUST HAVE FAITH IN HIS WORK QUITE APART FROM THE MONEY HE EXPECTS TO RECEIVE FOR IT. If he has this faith he reaches toward a spiritual success beside which the highest material success is paltry indeed.

So making writing its own reward is the first condition of pulp writing success.

You want specifics from your betas, not generic “I kind of liked it” sort of comments. To aid in this, editor Jodie Renner suggests fifteen questions to give your betas: 1. Did the story hold your interest from the very beginning? If not, why not? 2. Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, and where and when it’s taking place? If not, why not? 3. Could you relate to the main character? Did you feel her/his pain or excitement? 4. Did the setting interest you, and did the descriptions seem vivid and real to you?

5. Was there a point at which you felt the story started to lag or you became less than excited about finding out what was going to happen next? Where, exactly? 6. Were there any parts that confused you? Or even frustrated or annoyed you? Which parts, and why? 7. Did you notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies in time sequences, places, character details, or other details? 8. Were the characters believable? Are there any characters you think could be made more interesting or more likable? 9. Did you get confused about who’s who in the characters? Were there too many characters to keep track of? Too few? Are any of the names or characters too similar? 10. Did the dialogue keep your interest and sound natural to you? If not, whose dialogue did you think sounded artificial or not like that person would speak?

11. Did you feel there was too much description or exposition? Not enough? Maybe too much dialogue in parts? 12. Was there enough conflict, tension, and intrigue to keep your interest? 13. Was the ending satisfying? Believable? 14. Did you notice any obvious, repeating grammatical, spelling, punctuation or capitalization e...

The Fiction Factory came out. The subtitle was: Being the Experience of a Writer Who, for Twenty-Two Years, Has Kept a Story-Mill Grinding Successfully.