Designing story basics-
You need a story situation in which tension and conflict can be built, increased and milked, ultimately resolved with great effort by the hero party alone. (Hero party denoted as H below.) Use the foolproof plan technique shown in Budding Bestseller.
Your main characters must be strong and clearly, individually identifiable. You do not have to describe their physical appearance beyond the basic needs of story, let the reader imagine and build their own picture. Make them sweat or swear, have, do or say something unusual, or whatever; often little more is needed for formula fiction. Similarly scenes do not have to be described in detail, merely paint the relevant features and let the reader do the rest.
Lester Dent split his book formula into quarters, my method, which is partly based on his, uses the same idea of sections, but without specifying lengths or proportions.

Starting your story-
Introduce the hero party, H, very early and land H in trouble a.s.a.p.
Get action moving very early, introduce main characters as early as possible without disrupting story flow.
Develop mystery, deepen it. Think intrigue! By the end of the first quarter, have H in some danger.
CHECK- there is suspense, menace to H, the actual story has moved forwards. If not, start again.

Getting really into the story-
Pressure mounts on H, H struggles. A big effort needed. Mystery deepens, more intrigue. Maybe, a surprise twist here can help set up the next section’s intrigue.
By about half way through the whole story CHECK- suspense has increased, menace has grown, characters come over strongly, there is room for plenty more action. Read what is before, are you worried for H? If not, go back and re-write it so you are. Read Budding Bestseller for detailed advice on improving it.

Building towards a climax-
Pile the pressure on H. Make H hurt in some way.
In the second half, make H take some significant step forwards- an encounter with a major villain, cornering a witness or lesser villain, or physical conflict. Use fast action and don't waste words.
Some time into the second half, introduce a spark of hope, but have H in big trouble before the final phase.
CHECK- suspense is very high, menace growing. Make sure all so far flows logically.

Finishing off-
Throw problems upon troubles as H fights to resolve the main point. Almost insurmountable situation is climbed out of by H alone. Now solve the mystery; the big all-action climax. Put a twist in near the end. Have one hell of a good last paragraph.

This is "formula" writing designed originally for action heroes but adaptable, with thought, to other novel types too. It depends on a fast moving and suspenseful story with strong characterisation and slick writing style. It's best with the minimum of descriptive passages but punchy dialogue. Do not be verbose or this formula will fail. "Formula" books are often relatively short compared to serious fiction, around 60,000 words by old average method- less than that by digital word count. I've derived these notes from numerous sources including my own Budding Bestseller guide, published authors' tips and the Lester Dent technique for series books. Neil Gee 2011. © copyright Neil Gee and Infinity Junction, www.infinityjunction.com.
This web page is a free guide for those who want to do pulp. Note that Infinity Junction only publishes fiction that we think goes beyond pulp, we want something a bit more intelligent or thought provoking.