Charles Euchner - The Structure of Writing: A Short How-To Guide to Organize Your Stories, Essays, Reports, and More (The Elements of Writing Book 7)

The Golden Rule of Writing:
The Simple Trick That Cracks The Writing Code

Content copyright (c) Charles Christopher Euchner, 2013. All rights reserved. Published in the United States.

The Structure of Writing

Part 7 of The Elements of Writing

By Charles Euchner

About The Structure of Writing

The Structure of Writing offers a simple, step-by-step approach to creating the moments and images that help stories to come aliveand create lasting moments for your readers.

The Structure of Writing is Part 7 in a series of fourteen titles outlining the skills and strategies of The Writing Code learning system. You can also buy the comprehensive work The Writing Code: The Only Writing Guide You Will Ever Need.

Charles Euchner, the author, has taught writing to hundreds of students and professionals in a wide range of settings, including universities (Vanderbilt, Yale, SUNY), corporations (Amneal, NetCom, Gen Re, Chevron, Pitney Bowes), publishing houses (Oxford), and special-topics seminars for students and authors.

If you plan to buy The Writing Code, do not purchase this work unless you want the same material in two separate places. A new edition of The Writing Code will be available in September 2012.

About the Cover

The cover of The Structure of Writing was designed by Isabel Chenoweth. The photograph, taken by Chenoweth, depicts a gathering of the Mexican team that participated in the Little League World Series in 2005. That image was among almost 100 of her photographs in Little League, Big Dreams , by Charles Euchner. For more information about Isabel Chenoweths award-winning work as a photographer, visit www.icportraits.com .

The Structure of Writing is copyright 2015 by Charles Christopher Euchner. All Rights Reserved. Any and all reproduction or other uses of this book protected by U.S. copyright law, without the expressed written permission of Charles Euchner, is prohibited. For more information, visit or call him at (203) 645-6112.

Praise for The Elements of Writing

The Elements of Writing is the rare writers handbook that is both useful and a pleasure to read. The books structure is original and smart; aspiring writers can read the book cover to cover or can look up specific issues. Besides articulating his own tricks of the trade, Euchner offers a huge, wonderful array of examples. In clear, lucid terms, The Writing Code explains and shows what makes for strong prose.

Aaron Ritzenberg, Department of English, Yale University

The Elements of Writing is a great way to get everybody from students to practicing professionals excited about the skills, knowledge, and work habits that go into the composition of clear, solid prose. Too often, this information gets presented in a way that turns people off or triggers anxiety, making the challenge of writing well seem far more daunting than it really is. Charlie Euchners approach gets the job done with just the right blend of rigor, encouragement, and fun.

Alex Heard, Editorial Director, Outside magazine and author of The Eyes of Willie McGee

Charles Euchner is the rare talent who can both write and teach. As I struggled to write my first book, he pulled me back to reality and explained the tricks of the trade. With brilliant simplicity, he explained all the bigand littlethings that lead to a successful book. Remember what you are trying to say. Open each story with a strong lead. Use stories to explain your analysis and concepts. Help the reader see, feel, and smell the situation. Within a month, I had learned what I needed to write a book. Euchner has now codified his wisdom in The Writing Code, which teaches all the skills you need to become a strong writer. Trust me, it works.

Former Ambassador Nancy E. Soderberg, author, The Superpower Myth

With The Elements of Writing, writer and educator Charles Euchner provides a simple, intuitive, skillbased approach to writing in all genres. Ive incorporated the approach in my classroom to help my students write their autobiographies. It is difficult to write about ones life, but The Elements of Writing helps students to find the right words, in the right order, to construct their personal narrative. Its a must read for all educators who are serious about guiding the young authors to unlock their unique voices and develop as both writers and thinkers.

David Cass, Teacher/Advisor, The Met School, Providence, R.I.

Mnemonics work to help people to remember all kinds of knowledge and skills. Charlie Euchner, like all good teachers, knows that and has applied it to teaching writing basics. He has cleverly turned the alphabet into an easily remembered mnemonic for the principles of good writing. My sense is that people, especially writers in business, know what they want to say but are not sure how to get it down in a comprehensible and simple fashion. Euchner has a dead simple tool that will help in composing and editing any written work.

Gerry Lantz, President, Stories That Work

For more information, visit www.theelementsofwriting.com.

Praise for Other Works

By Charles Euchner

Nobody Turn Me Around: A Peoples History of the 1963 March on Washington (Beacon Press, 2010)

Charles Euchner masterfully paints a pointillist portrait of the March on Washington. Most impressive is Euchners amazing economy in telling this story; in just over 200 pages, he provides a wholly satisfying, comprehensive view of the March. A sharp, riveting depiction of what Martin Luther King called the greatest demonstration for freedom in the nations history.

Kirkus Reviews, Star Review

As Charles Euchners riveting account makes clear, the American public, and most of the participants themselves, had only the barest grasp of the days, weeks and months of meticulous planning, the sacrifices, the triumphs and the internecine squabbles that went into the March on Washington that hot afternoon of August 28, 1963. All the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s are here in Nobody Turn Me Around. To Euchners great credit, they are presented as flesh and blood, not as cardboard cutouts for some Black History Month display.

Jack Shakely, senior fellow, Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, University of Southern California

As was true of the historic March on Washington in 1963, so it is true of Charles Euchners riveting new chronicle of the event: The massive human train of proud and determined Americansordinary, salt-of-the-earth citizensis the heart and soul of this dramatic and inspiring story. The pages crackle and vibrate with the voices of unsung heroes who drove, flew, rode buses and trains, hitchhiked, even walked long distances to be there in the Great Emancipators stone shadow as Dr. King spun out his immortal Dream.

John Egerton, author, Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South

The Last Nine Innings (Sourcebooks, 2006)

The Last Nine Innings is the last word on the inside game of baseball. Its full of wonderful revelations and perceptions that help us understand the game in ways that we might never have imagined. Charlie Euchner has done a marvelous job in getting players to talk, simply, about how they play, and were the wiser for it.

Frank Deford, National Public Radio, HBO Real Sports, and Sports Illustrated

Euchners examination of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees, makes for the rare book which covers familiar ground while managing to continually surprise the reader. This is a terrific read for new and old fans alike.