Misha Burnett's Five Pillars of Pulp

Misha Burnett has been trying to pin down the essentials of the pulp style.  Many writers have copied the language of the old pulps, from detective stories to weird tales, but few grasp the essence of those stories.  Burnett proposes that the heart of the pulps can be described by his Five Pillars: Action, Impact, Moral Peril, Mystery, and Romance.  Without these elements, a "pulp" story becomes a mere knock-off.