"Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of style," Jonathan Swift said. This guide show you how to put the proper words in the proper places
Once you master all the basics -- building clear, vivid sentences and paragraphs, grammar, editing -- you can think about style.
Style puts your special stamp on your writing. You might be as straightforward as an old-fashioned newspaper reporter or as ornate as Tom Wolfe. But your style makes a statement about your values and skill.
In the concise how-to guide "Writing With Style," author Charles Euchner shows you, step by step, shows you how to.
• Tap into life’s natural rhythms.
• Help the reader to feel.
• Help the reader to see.
• Help the reader to hear.
• Use metaphors to show underlying similarities.
• Use similes to show similarities, casually.
• Riff to discover and express ideas.
• Remember that "good is great."
• To get playful, think like a child.
"Writing With Style" shows you how to perfect these skills with case studies of classic and modern writing, including Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Mark Twain’s "Life on the Mississippi," Scott Russell Sanders’s “Under the Influence,” John Updike’s "Rabbit, Run," Rick Reilly’s sports journalism, memoirs and essays of Thomas Lynch, Roy Blount’s "Alphabet Soup," and Tom Wolfe’s "From Bauhaus to Our House."
About the Author
Charles Euchner, a case writer at the Yale School of Management who has also taught writing at Yale, is a longtime college teacher and author.
Euchner has spent most of his career in academe, most recently directing a policy think tank at Harvard.
But he is also the author or editor of ten books. His latest book "Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington" (Beacon Press, 2010), which critics call "dynamic ... sharp, riveting" (Kirkus Reviews), “compelling and dramatic” (Juan Williams), and “a panorama of vivid characters” (Curtis Wilkie).
Euchner’s other books include a trilogy on the state of sports in modern America ("Playing the Field," "The Last Nine Innings," and "Little League, Big Dreams"), grassroots politics ("Urban Policy Reconsidered" and "Extraordinary Politics"), presidential politics ("Selecting the President" and "The President and the Public"), and regional politics (the two-part "Governing Greater Boston" project).
