Why no Action-Adventure/Pulp Category?

[CEMartin2]

Why is there no Action-Adventure or Pulp category in the Writing Genre section? I find a lot of my questions would probably fit better in that category.

 

[Lidiya]

I've recently been wondering that too! There seems to be a lack of Action/Adventure subforums all over the AW forums.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Is there a big call for action/adventure? Is that a genre unto itself? I'm curious. Seems to me most action/adventure is a subgenre within other genres. Some falling under spec fiction, some under western, some under mystery/suspense/thriller.

The same with pulp. Is that an active, defined genre or is it an umbrella term for nearly everything written in the 30s and 40s?


There used to be a category called Men's Adventure, but did that die out or get absorbed into other genres, too?


I don't know, I'm just asking.

 

[CEMartin2]

Pulp is not just 30s and 40s fiction, or stories set in that era. It is a specific style of writing. Men's Adventure is very similar to Pulp, but has more complicated plots. Action Adventure is similar to Men's Adventure.

Pulp: Doc Savage, the Shadow, Tarzan
Men's Adventure: Mac Bolan, The Destroyer
Action/Adventure: James Bond, Dirk Pitt

 

[Xelebes]

Because books are no longer sold under those genres. As was mentioned, they are now divided by the current genres of thriller, science fiction, fantasy and historical.

James Bond = Suspense, Thriller
Doc Savage = Thriller, Suspense?
Tarzan = Fantasy
The Shadow = Mystery, Suspense

 

[Cambridge]

Is that just in the US or is it true of the UK, too?

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Pulp is not just 30s and 40s fiction, or stories set in that era. It is a specific style of writing. Men's Adventure is very similar to Pulp, but has more complicated plots. Action Adventure is similar to Men's Adventure.

Pulp: Doc Savage, the Shadow, Tarzan
Men's Adventure: Mac Bolan, The Destroyer
Action/Adventure: James Bond, Dirk Pitt

Is that a more modern Definition of pulp? Because the original pulps crossed many genres. It referred to the cheap paper the magazines used at the time.

Doc savage might be more spec fiction now since he used a lot of sci-fi type gadgets, although he, along with The Shadow (and The Spider) and Dirk Pitt fall under the MST umbrella.

I have no idea where Mac Bolan or The Destoyer would go since i never read them. I remember them in the men's adventure area when I was a kid along with The Penetrator and The Executioner. Maybe also MST?

 

[BigWords]

I have plenty of romance, western and science fiction pulps, and the writing can be vastly different from story to story within the same issue, never mind across publishers or stages of the pulp era.

Gotta admit that there were only a handful of long running series I invested a whole lot in - Doctor Who and Edge (which was a really cool western) being the two which I lasted the longest reading.

There are places on the board where you will find people who have a fondness for those styles of writing.

 

[CEMartin2]

Okay, definitions...

From Urban Dictionary:

1. Movie, Book, or other type of publication with lurid subject matter, such as crime. Often shocking subjects portrayed as non-shocking.

2. A form of literature that originated in 1930's magazines. It features relatively simplistic and often lurid tales, with much action and little psychological thrills.

Other websites may define it differently, including bits about "larger than life characters".

I sum it up like this: Pulps were cheaply made, and churned out rapidly to fill consumer demand. The stories were simpler, with less convoluted plots, because the writers didn't have the time to be very literary.

What you end up with is something that is a quick read, with lots of action.

Men's Adventure books, particularly in the 1980s, were very similar, but they were slower paced in my opinion.

Thrillers and Mystery and suspense just don't capture that frenetic, reckless writing style the pulps had. Authors have more time to polish their prose.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I understand what some people claim was the "pulp-style."

I guess my real question is: are there markets today that accept a pulp-style as you have it defined? Is it a viable market today?


As to the questions you might have regarding those genres, I'd say either try the MST or the sci-Fi/fantasy forums and ask away.

 

[Stew21]

I would think, though we should ask the room mod, if this would be a good topic in the MTS genre room. I'm inclined to think it is the closest current category, and there may be a subset of people who frequent that room who would be interested in conversation regarding pulp, action/adventure, it's viability as a selling market/submarket of MST, etc. I'll ask the room mod and let you know for sure.


edit:

I posed the question. Just so you are aware, it is room mod's choice.

It may be good for a thread or three with some interest, or it might be something with heavy interest that warrants more space. I, or other mods/admins, will let you know.

 

[heyjude]

There are a few people who write action/adventure who post semi-regularly. I've fielded this question before, but there just hasn't been a huge amount of interest in a subforum for action-adventure, not enough to bring it up with Mac.

It definitely falls into the category of MTS. You're more than welcome in MTS! If there are action/adventure topics you want to discuss, please start a thread there. I'm sure you'd get interest--there's a lot of overlap in those genres, and there are bound to be people who are interested.

Thanks for the heads-up, Stew!

 

[CEMartin2]

Thanks for the invite- headed there now.

 

[Torgo]

I understand what some people claim was the "pulp-style."

I guess my real question is: are there markets today that accept a pulp-style as you have it defined? Is it a viable market today?

The 99p Kindle Direct novel is, essentially, the return of pulp. It's a self-publishing category these days.

Pulp magazines and the cheap paperbacks that grew from them were about economics. It's a business model, not a genre. The model is: pay as little as possible, pay no royalties, edit lightly, print cheaply. Quantity over quality. So I think you can still do that, but in ebooks, and at a price point that doesn't leave much margin to pay for publishing professionals.

 

[BigWords]

People interested in writing stories with a pulpy feel should really be reading pulp magazines - they aren't as expensive (on the whole) as people might imagine, and there are some absolutely amazing writing in them, along with numerous wonderful non-fiction pieces which have helped me immensely. Also, the covers are beautiful.

 

[Alessandra Kelley]

I would think MTS would be the place for such things.

People interested in writing stories with a pulpy feel should really be reading pulp magazines - they aren't as expensive (on the whole) as people might imagine, and there are some absolutely amazing writing in them, along with numerous wonderful non-fiction pieces which have helped me immensely. Also, the covers are beautiful.

BigWords, do you mean vintage pulp magazines? Because I would agree. My husband gave me some gorgeous sf pulps from the '50s and '60s. They really weren't very expensive (one from the 1920s cost a bit more). And it is so rewarding to read the originals as they were first presented.

 

[BigWords]

BigWords, do you mean vintage pulp magazines?

Absolutely. A lot of the big, important stories (Doc Savage, The Shadow, Conan) have had various reprints (with varying degrees of quality) over the years, but nothing compares to the original magazines. Some of the reprints are completely unrecognizable from what they have been sourced from - altered spot artwork, "mistakes" corrected, names changed, right up to altering dates and (at least in one instance) changing the murder weapon.

They really weren't very expensive (one from the 1920s cost a bit more).

Try getting your hands on some of the "Penny Dreadfuls" - the forerunners to pulp, and utterly, utterly insane. The printing may be terrible, but the stories I have read are some of the most entertaining things EVER. Ludicrous, impossible, over-the-top and utterly engrossing...

 

[Alessandra Kelley]

When I was a teenager I got a dime novel from around 1900 called "The Pawnee Witch." It was atrociously amusing. Lurid, melodramatic, and the print was faded grey on browned pulp paper, so it took some work to read.

 

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I'm currently working on a Doc Savage pastiche that I would love to put under a pulp listing. It's certainly not MST, though as I have everything from alien moonbases, to zombies, Zeppelins, and talking Nazi gorillas.

SF it might be, but anyone expecting serious thought would be sorely disappointed.

 

[Derrick]

Okay, lemme see if I can get this right...been a long time since I had to throw this out there...

Pulp is...fast paced, plot oriented storytelling of a linear nature with clearly defined, larger than life protagonists and antagonists, creative descriptions, clever use of turns of phrase, words, as well as other aspects of writing that add to the intensity and pacing of the story,

 

[Derrick]

What is New Pulp?

http://networkedblogs.com/P8tye

 

[Rick Archer]

Interesting.

What is New Pulp?

http://networkedblogs.com/P8tye

Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series could fall under pulp with those definitions.

 

[Batspan]

This article about All-Story gives good information about action/adventure pulp fiction: http://www.all-story.com/issues.cgi?action=show_story&story_id=69

A new Argosy is launching. I've been rereading early adventure novels and stories. People still read Verne, Hagaard, Burroughs, Doyle and others who caught the imagination with action-packed tales.

BTW, The Grinder has a category for Action/Adventure. Click "Search" and click the down-arrow at "Genre." The drop down menu lists Action/Adventure in addition to Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery/Crime, Thriller/Suspense and others.

I'd like to see a forum space for it.

 

[gothicangel]

I write Roman action/adventure style novels, which are in the same vein as Bernard Cornwall and Simon Scarrow, but tend to flit between Historicals and MTS. Similar discussions have happened there.

 

[sunandshadow]

Adventure has to take place in a setting, doesn't it? And that setting is either historical, science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, or magic realism/horror, right?