How to Write Pulp Fiction (Bell on Writing)

I thought I knew a lot about writing pulp fiction. I'd even found what I thought was Lester Dent's formula, online. The only reason I bought this was because it's by James Scott Bell. I glean at least ONE amazingly useful tip from every book he writes, and I usually learn a lot that changes (and improves) everything I write.Well, Bell is at his best with this book. Yes, it's kind of "everything but the kitchen sink," but that's a good thing.I'm not sure I'll ever write pulp fiction. It's not my style.BUT... this book gave me some brilliant tips about improving the openings of my books. It showed me how to energize my fiction and nonfiction, using some pulp-fiction-ish style.And, that Lester Dent info you've probably seen online...? Bell delivers the full formula. It's about 3x bigger than anything online, and it makes a world of difference if you're trying to write to market, and use story beats that turn books into page turners.Some portions of this book weren't useful to me. Bell is kind of all-over-the-place with this one, and I'm grateful for that. Between bits I didn't need, and things that don't apply to my writing, I found tips, tricks, and suggestions that are pure gold.In my opinion, every writer and aspiring author can learn from this book. Great stuff.

from book blogger Alex Kourvo on the Writing Slices blogPulp is often considered lowbrow. Just because it’s written in quantity and features plain language, it is often seen as undeserving. Literary writers are especially fond of looking down their noses at genre writers. But good pulp is simply another version of the art form known as the novel. And yes, it’s an art. Just ask Elmore Leonard, Raymond Chandler, and Lawrence Block.Bell defines pulp fiction as plot centric, easy to read, and fast-paced, with colorful characters, witty dialogue, and intriguing settings. In other words, popular fiction. Romance and thrillers are the bestselling genres today, but Bell only gives a passing nod to romance. His advice is clearly for those who want to write thrillers or hardboiled mysteries, especially in a series.This is a very specific book for a very specific kind of writer. It’s not a general how-to book. But like pulp fiction itself, HOW TO WRITE PULP FICTION is fast-paced and easy to read. It’s a great introduction to writing faster, writing to market, and generally getting out of your own way to let those stories rip.

Like most "How-To" books, "How To Write Pulp Fiction" makes the task look much easier than it is. But author James Scott Bell (JSB) tries to emphasize the fact that pulp writing, in its purest form, is, always has been, and always will be work. It is a job, a way to make money, and for many, it is a living (but is also its own reward). So, the focus is on writing prolifically - good, escapist, entertaining and marketable genre fiction. Many magazines also published short stories or serialized novels, back in the day.JSB gives us enough history about the "classic pulp era" from 1910s to 1950s. Many of those years, most before television was common, people had voracious appetites for escaping in a short, easy-to-read, and cheap to buy novel. There were westerns, confessionals, adventure stories, detective, fantasy, and many others - something for everyone's taste. And pulp fiction, that has provided millions of entertaining words through its heyday, is far from dead. In fact, JSB points to what is essentially a resurgence with the introduction of pulp to the digital market.The book gives some concrete advice on writing pulp for a digital format. And JSB uses many of the money-making devices so popular in this market. He points the reader to many other books he has published, expanding on the brief thoughts presented here. While quoting the masters such as William Wallace Cook and Erle Stanley Gardner, JSB is a pioneer and an innovator and offers much practical advice about surviving and prospering as a pulp writer in the 21st century.This book presents several examples of plot formulas or plot generators, some from the masters, and JSB's own "Start-A-Plot Machine." More how-to advice is given on characterization, style, dialogue, and publishing. The book, like pulp, is quick and easy and an interesting starting point for anyone interested in either writing their own or gaining insight into how it is done. Remember: "A writer works."

Primary value was the encouragement and inspiration, the psychology regarding how to approach writing fast and loose. Those are the parts I'll be rereading. Good solid overview with enough detail to be useful to someone who's already a writer but looking for specific info on writing pulp. Marketing and publishing sections are covered far better elsewhere and didn't add value here.

I've read a lot of books on the craft of writing. Most of them I couldn't finish. Of the one's I did, I learned one, sometimes two ideas of real value. It has always been my opinion that if I learn one good idea from a book, my time and money was well spent.My copy of James Bell's How to Write Pulp Fiction has been marked up, written in, and will be an oft used reference. This is the only book on the craft of writing that I actually enjoyed reading. In fact, the book ends with a short story filled with both inspiration AND valuable advice for a new writer.For those who write in genre's that fit in the "pulp" style of writing, this is an essential read. A must purchase that every pulp writer needs in their arsenal of tools.

This book totally inspired me to get writing. I'm a sucker for pulp fiction and its mentality of hit first and don't waste time thinking about it later. This book does a good job of summarizing the genre and goes into the history and the contains lots of nice insight into some of the masters. The pulp writers worked hard and were prolific. That's the main takeaway, so read the book quick and then get to typing. I've always found a kernel of wisdom in each James Scott Bell book I've read and they've always seemed worth the price to me. This one was no exception.

It was the book’s cover that caught my eye that cold foggy night as I waited in the shadows of the store on Oxford Street. I’d been searching for this for some time, and now as I read the words I realized that the gems I had been seeking were within it pages. My dark hat shaded my eyes and cast my face into deeper shadow.“How much?” I whispered to the blowzy blond behind the counter as I rattled the small chang in my left hand.“That’ll be fifty P Mr,” she replied.The book was clutched tightly in my right hand. From what I’d seem the advice it offered was pertinent to my needs. Very pertinent. The wind whistled along the concourse, autumn oak leaves rattled against my legs as I hurried away from the store. I hadn’t gone far when I noticed the man in the trench coat hurrying after me. I picked up my pace. This book was a great find. It told me all I needed to know. I could extract the key points and put them on cards on my cork board. The case against that low life Slack Procrastination would be solved in double quick time. The man was closing the gap, I had to do something. This book could not fall into the wrong hands. My reputation as Vince Vicious was about to be restored, thanks to the value of this little book. I reached into my pocket, the cold metal of the P38 filling my hand. The man stepped closer.“You bought the last copy,” he hissed. “I need that book to kick start my career.”“That’s tough Mac, you’ll have to buy a copy from Amazon.” He stepped back and I eased my grip on the gray metal in my pocket. “Follow it’s advice and you’ll be ok.” I turned away and hurried to my office. I couldn’t wait to get started.

I’m a huge fan of James Scott Bell’s books on writing. I have many of them and they’re all very useful, and very inspirational. I’m also a huge fan of pulp fiction. So when I read the blurb on this one I was very excited and I downloaded - and read - it right away.There’s some useful stuff in here, and I did enjoy the read, but I must confess I was a little disappointed this time.The book contained a large number of quite long excerpts from other people’s writing books – I’m guessing these are out of copyright and were thus free to use. Once or twice this was okay, but it soon started to feel like padding - like a way of getting the word count up. At the end James re-uses several blog-posts from his own past. Good blog posts, admittedly, but again it felt like he was just going through the motions to some extent. If you’ve read his book about making a living as a writer, you’ll remember the advice about getting content out there regularly, and I couldn’t help thinking that’s what he was doing with this one. This feeling was exacerbated by his constant linking and referral to his other books on related subjects. So, just one example, instead of talking about developing a voice, he simply refers you to his book on voice. Kerching! Another sale.This is a shame because James has been one of my go to writers on writing and I hope he hasn’t chosen a new and slightly more mercenary path to walk.All that said, it is very readable and does contain some great advice – hence the three stars – but I think it’s a missed opportunity. An in depth analysis of some actual pulp stories and plots would have been useful. The pulp story framework is given, but it would have been interesting to have seen that framework overlaid onto some classic tales. We can all do this ourselves, of course.Still worth the price though – so you may as well download it and make up your own mind.

How to Write Pulp Fiction by James Scott Bell is probably my favourite how-to-write book from this author. Before the end I was already making notes, trying out the random plot generator and thinking up characters and seedy settings.The author starts with a history of pulp fiction before going into how the same techniques can be applied to today’s ebook market, and particularly to self-publishers who are building their own brand.He also gives away some secrets, such as using serial characters to save on the planning work, which can be applied to any genre really. And he shows how to take your work to the next level by pausing and going deeper into a situation before coming back to the main plot.Once you’ve written the book, there is advice on how to get published, in which the author goes into the pros and cons of both traditional publishing and self-publishing. And then there’s a little bit on marketing.At the end of the book is a delightful little vignette about a new writer who learns his trade from a hack pulp fiction writer, written in glorious pulp fiction style.I absolutely loved the random plot generator, to the extent that I saved both the random number generator (you need to read the book to see what this is) and a random name generator to the home screen on all of my devices, and I wrote down all of his plot machine prompts in a notebook, just so I always have access to them.In order to get the absolute best from this guide, I think it’s important to read some of the suggested authors. I already have a full set of Raymond Chandlers, but I also treated myself to the first Perry Mason by Erle Stanley Gardner. (I’ve read the first page and am already addicted.)The guide is written just like the pulp fiction it’s describing. It’s easy to read in a no-nonsense conversational style and makes you think that maybe you could give this a go too. Even if you don’t particularly want to write pulp fiction, it’s a nice entertaining read.“Type hard. Type fast. Make dough.”

Another book about how to write pulp fiction at ten thousand words a day, market it and make a living. To be fair, it's readable and the author knows his pulp. If nothing else he directs you to some good pulp writers and even to others from the golden age who have written about writing pulp. 'The Fiction Factory' by John Milton Edwards is available free on Project Gutenberg. It is kind of inspiring when you're feeling low but all these things have to be taken with a pinch of salt. There are now millions of books in print and thousands added every day. Getting noticed ain't easy, even if you're good. Bell writes thrillers as well as books on writing so he does practice what he preaches.

Another good book from James. He has a way of writing that draws you in, it is easy to read and has plenty of examples. Having read this book, I now know what I need to do to get my story moving along at a quicker pace.