To give your stories life -- to give your readers a sense of being in the middle of your drama -- you need to create vivid, sensual settings. You need to create a whole new world for the reader to inhabit.
And that's what you'll learn how to do in "The World of the Story," this succinct how-to guide written by the acclaimed author and teacher Charles Euchner.
The world of the story plays a crucial role in your storytelling. When you give your reader a vivid place, you not only provide a "container" for your story but also reveal the psyches and values of your characters.
"The World of the Story" makes it simple to put your characters and action in a place that explains what the characters and actions mean. Specifically, this brief how-to guide shows you how to:
• Create small, knowable places.
• Use place to reveal character and ideas.
• Use place to explain identity.
• Reveal places with movement and action.
• Place stories in a larger world.
Each chapter offers case studies from classic works of storytelling and journalism, including Emma Donoghue's "Room," Robert Caro's "The Path to Power," Judith Ortiz Cofer's "Silent Dancing," John Knowles's "A Separate Peace," Elizabeth Gilbert's "The Last American Man," and Henry Roth's "Call It Sleep." Each chapter also offers a section called "Your Turn," simple exercises you can use to put your new skills to work right away.
Reader's of Charles Euchner's books on writing and students in his seminars rave about the simple, powerful "tricks of the trade" that he offers to master even the toughest writing challenges. Some samples from recent seminars: "I wish I had known about this years ago" ... "Why aren't they teaching this in schools?" ... "On a scale of 10, I'd give it a 12" ... "I tried it and it works! Thanks!"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Euchner is a case writer for the Yale School of Management who has also taught writing at Yale. Euchner is also the creator of The Writing Code, the only comprehensive system for mastering writing. Euchner has delivered seminars all across the U.S. and coaches writers and teachers. Euchner spent most of his career in academe, most recently directing a policy think tank at Harvard and teaching writing at Yale.
Euchner is the author of acclaimed books on civil rights ("Nobody Turn Me Around"), baseball ("The Last Nine Innings" and "Little League, Big Dreams"), politics ("Extraordinary Politics"), urban affairs ("Playing the Field" and "Rethinking Urban Policy," with Steve McGovern), among other works. He has also published with Newsweek, The American, CommonWealth, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Major League Baseball, and other outlets.
And that's what you'll learn how to do in "The World of the Story," this succinct how-to guide written by the acclaimed author and teacher Charles Euchner.
The world of the story plays a crucial role in your storytelling. When you give your reader a vivid place, you not only provide a "container" for your story but also reveal the psyches and values of your characters.
"The World of the Story" makes it simple to put your characters and action in a place that explains what the characters and actions mean. Specifically, this brief how-to guide shows you how to:
• Create small, knowable places.
• Use place to reveal character and ideas.
• Use place to explain identity.
• Reveal places with movement and action.
• Place stories in a larger world.
Each chapter offers case studies from classic works of storytelling and journalism, including Emma Donoghue's "Room," Robert Caro's "The Path to Power," Judith Ortiz Cofer's "Silent Dancing," John Knowles's "A Separate Peace," Elizabeth Gilbert's "The Last American Man," and Henry Roth's "Call It Sleep." Each chapter also offers a section called "Your Turn," simple exercises you can use to put your new skills to work right away.
Reader's of Charles Euchner's books on writing and students in his seminars rave about the simple, powerful "tricks of the trade" that he offers to master even the toughest writing challenges. Some samples from recent seminars: "I wish I had known about this years ago" ... "Why aren't they teaching this in schools?" ... "On a scale of 10, I'd give it a 12" ... "I tried it and it works! Thanks!"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Euchner is a case writer for the Yale School of Management who has also taught writing at Yale. Euchner is also the creator of The Writing Code, the only comprehensive system for mastering writing. Euchner has delivered seminars all across the U.S. and coaches writers and teachers. Euchner spent most of his career in academe, most recently directing a policy think tank at Harvard and teaching writing at Yale.
Euchner is the author of acclaimed books on civil rights ("Nobody Turn Me Around"), baseball ("The Last Nine Innings" and "Little League, Big Dreams"), politics ("Extraordinary Politics"), urban affairs ("Playing the Field" and "Rethinking Urban Policy," with Steve McGovern), among other works. He has also published with Newsweek, The American, CommonWealth, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Major League Baseball, and other outlets.
