Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot Outline

The main author of the Doc Savage stories tells his secrets for writing a 6000-word pulp story that cannot fail to sell.

At this point, it might help to recall that action should do something besides advance the hero over the scenery. Suppose the hero has learned the dastards of villains have seized somebody named Eloise, who can explain the secret of what is behind all these sinister events. The hero corners villains, they fight, and villains get away. Not so hot.

Hero should accomplish something with his tearing around, if only to rescue Eloise, and surprise! Eloise is a ring-tailed monkey. The hero counts the rings on Eloise’s tail, if nothing better comes to mind. They’re not real. The rings are painted there. Why?

In the shower this morning, I kept thinking, “Steampunk + pulp = steampulp.”

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