The pulp era was a different time. Dime novels, pulp magazines and radio were the primary forms of fiction. Silent films dominated the theatres until the 1920s, with musicians playing music to accompany the show. The first Technicolor feature film arrived only in 1935, and it would take another three decades until colour firmly supplanted […]
Babylon Through the Eyes of Mundanes
When embarking on a new series, I have a simple rule: do something new. With the Babylon series, I wanted to play with perspective in storytelling. Babylon Blues has one main character and five viewpoint characters. While Yuri Yamamoto, leader of Team Black Watch, is the star of the story (and the series), he doesn’t […]
The Machinations of Lesser Gods
The New Gods dominate Nova Babylonia, but in their shadows skulk a host of lesser powers. Tutelary deities, minor spirits, demons and other creatures, they squabble among themselves to sweep up what little the New Gods leave them. Following the cataclysmic events of Babylon Blues, these lesser powers have a chance to step into the […]
The Case for Polylithic Evil
Most stories keep things simple. There is the side of Good, represented by the protagonist. There is the side of Evil, represented by the antagonist and his minions. Postmodern fiction tries to spice it up, with gray versus gray or gray versus black morality. Having just two sides is the norm. If there are multiple […]
Ingredients of Action Horror
Action horror. A fiction contradiction if there ever was one. Action stories are about agency: the character’s ability to act on the environment, to overcome all odds, to destroy all foes in his path. Horror relies heavily on a lack of agency: the inability to directly confront the horror, and with it, the despair that […]
The Fight Scene is the Last Scene
Action scenes are the most memorable aspects of any fiction. Fast-paced and intense, they sear themselves into the audience’s memories. Battles between the hero and the lesser mooks punctuate the plot, while the final showdown between the hero and the villain serves as the climax of the story. And that is what action in storytelling […]
Chasing Tropes
People enjoy the exotic, but not too exotic. People enjoy the familiar, but not too familiar. Reconciling these twin desires is the overriding concern of the modern-day fiction writer. A story where everything is formulaic, from characters to plots to setting, is predictable and boring. A story where everything is exotic and unfamiliar is disorienting, […]
A Pulp Perspective on Urban Fantasy
What is urban fantasy? A fantasy story set in a city. A simple definition. With that, you could have a story of jinni and magi in late 19th century Istanbul, an occult detective solving supernatural crimes in 1920s New York, a half-elf mercenary working a corporate contract against a clan of dragons in the Hong […]
Pulp on Pulp is Available for Preorder!
Last year, Misha Burnett and I put together a call for submissions for an anthology of essays on pulp fiction. Titled Pulp on Pulp, it collects tips, tricks and advice on the art of writing pulp fiction from some of the up and coming names in the growing PulpRev movement. Pulp on Pulp was meant […]
Yakuza 0 and the Art of Writing the Anti-Criminal
Kiryu Kazuma is a bad guy. Kiryu Kazuma isn’t a bad guy. The main protagonist of most of the games in the long-running Yakuza franchise, Kiryu Kazuma is the heart and soul of the series. Yakuza 0 explores his origins as a low-level member of the Dojima-gumi and his involvement in an underworld struggle to […]