MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - When does good fiction become pulp fiction?

DaringNovelist · 04-25-2010, 04:17 PM

Certain kinds of romances are indeed pulp fiction (or at least were in the relatively recent past - I haven't kept up with the industry because I'm not into regular romance). These are the ones that are written under pseudonyms and where the publisher name or line name is as important as the author name, and the publisher sets the formula for the stories. That's what originally defined the pulp market: written quickly for hire and published on the cheapest untrimmed "pulp" paper for mass consumption.

While it's associated with the later lurid science fiction, action and noir, it actually encompassed all genres that were "popular" or commercial. Romance, melodrama, children's stories, confessions, success stories.

Personally, I have nothing but respect for pulp writers - including the writers who turned out those cheesy formulaic romances anonymously.

A long time ago, a writing teacher of mine in a literary writing class gave us all an stern lecture. "When you find that your great novel is tough to write, and you think those trashy writers are making more money and maybe you should give up and write trash, just remember this: If you can't tell the difference between the good trash and the bad trash, then you are missing the point, and you can never succeed at writing trash. If you try, you'll be the worst of the worst - a _lousy_ trashy fiction writer that even the fans of trashy fiction despise. You simply cannot understand it or write it unless you love it."

The thing is, successfully writing trash is not easy. It's not a matter of plug and play, or "changing a few words." It may be really painful to read for people who don't like the genre, but that's because those who read the genre are not interested in the same things as you are. To succeed at it, you have to get the stuff they ARE interested in right.

Writing that kind of formula stuff can actually be very good for you, and your skills, because it forces you to focus on audience and intention. It's like sprinter starts, or scales or gesture drawings - it allows you to focus.

Camille
The Adventure of Anna the Great, Smashwords, Kindle

04-25-2010, 04:17 PM	#22
DaringNovelist Addict Posts: 197 Karma: 1010202 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: iPod Touch	Certain kinds of romances are indeed pulp fiction (or at least were in the relatively recent past - I haven't kept up with the industry because I'm not into regular romance). These are the ones that are written under pseudonyms and where the publisher name or line name is as important as the author name, and the publisher sets the formula for the stories. That's what originally defined the pulp market: written quickly for hire and published on the cheapest untrimmed "pulp" paper for mass consumption. While it's associated with the later lurid science fiction, action and noir, it actually encompassed all genres that were "popular" or commercial. Romance, melodrama, children's stories, confessions, success stories. Personally, I have nothing but respect for pulp writers - including the writers who turned out those cheesy formulaic romances anonymously. A long time ago, a writing teacher of mine in a literary writing class gave us all an stern lecture. "When you find that your great novel is tough to write, and you think those trashy writers are making more money and maybe you should give up and write trash, just remember this: If you can't tell the difference between the good trash and the bad trash, then you are missing the point, and you can never succeed at writing trash. If you try, you'll be the worst of the worst - a _lousy_ trashy fiction writer that even the fans of trashy fiction despise. You simply cannot understand it or write it unless you love it." The thing is, successfully writing trash is not easy. It's not a matter of plug and play, or "changing a few words." It may be really painful to read for people who don't like the genre, but that's because those who read the genre are not interested in the same things as you are. To succeed at it, you have to get the stuff they ARE interested in right. Writing that kind of formula stuff can actually be very good for you, and your skills, because it forces you to focus on audience and intention. It's like sprinter starts, or scales or gesture drawings - it allows you to focus. Camille The Adventure of Anna the Great, Smashwords, Kindle Last edited by DaringNovelist; 04-25-2010 at 04:19 PM.