Comprehensive Guide
THE MOTHER SHIP
All you need to master writing, step by
step
“This is the book Pinker wishes he wrote.”
“Move over, Strunk and White.” “Without peer.” “Trust me; it
works.” “Just the right blend of rigor, encouragement, and
fun.” “Both useful and a pleasure.” “A bounty of usable
information.”
Those are just a handful of raves for The Elements of
Writing (previously published as The Big Book of Writing and
The Writing Code), the only comprehensive system for writing
well in all fields.
These days, everyone is a writer. For centuries, publishing
has been the small world of elites. But now, the business of
writing and sharing has been democratized by the desktop and
laptop computer, the Internet, DIY operations like Amazon, and
social media.
Now what?
Most people, if they want, can master all the skills and
techniques of writing. But while the world of publishing has
been transformed, how we learn to write is stuck in a 19thcentury model of five-part essays and abstract (and often
random) do’s and don’ts.
The Elements of Writing—a complete update and revision of the
previously published The Writing Code and The Big Book of
Writing—offers the only comprehensive system for writing
anywhere.
Author and teacher Charles Euchner developed The Elements by
systematically “reverse-engineering” some of the best writers
from antiquity to modern times. provides close to 100 case
studies showing how the masters approach every challenge a
writer faces. Euchner shows, step by step, how the best
writers deal with everything from character development to
editing messy drafts.
As a result, The Elements provides tutorials from the very
best in the business—Homer and Aristotle and Shakespeare, Mark
Twain and Stephen Crane, Hemingway and Faulkner, Virginia
Woolf and Tom Wolfe, Zadie Smith and Elizabeth Gilbert, Martin
Luther King and C.S. Lewis, Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz,
Laura Hillenbrand and Emma Donoghue—and dozens more.
The Elements of Writing offers the complete guide to students
and teachers, government and nonprofit analysts, business
professionals, journalists and authors.
At the core of The Elements is the Golden Rule of Writing. If
you can master this simple idea, you can instantly transform
your storytelling technique, write dynamic sentences and
paragraphs, revise and edit drafts in a fraction of the time,
and explain complex ideas in clear, straightforward prose.
In this comprehensive work, Euchner shows you how to:
Understand the inner structure of all human perception
and interaction through the Golden Rule of Writing. When
you understand this secret, all of the challenges of
writing come more easily.
Build great stories , step by step, by treating
compelling characters using the Character Dossier …
creating a great cast of characters with the Wheel of
Archetypes … create dynamic scenes using Beats and
Cliffhangers … and creating a compelling “World of the
Story.”
Allow ideas to “unfold” one by one, rather than rushing
and packing ideas too closely together (the “tin or
sardines” problem).
Use tools like the Landscape View, the Idea Bucket, the
Tabloid Headline, Slotting, Traffic Signs, and the
Search and Destroy system to take command of the
mechanics of writing.
Develop compelling arguments by applying storytelling
skills to analysis—by learning how to brainstorm like a
pro, isolate possible explanations for questions, and
climb up and down the Ladder of Abstraction.
And so much more.
Charles Euchner—now a case writer at the Yale School of
Management and author of books on writing, the sports
industry, civil rights, and politics—has taught his unique
system to audiences across the U.S. He works the full range of
writers–from high school students and teachers to first-time
and bestselling authors.
It’s time to take control of your writing. Welcome to the
Writing Revolution.
Consider a bulk buy
Get everyone in your organization writing better and faster
with The Elements of Writing.
Write Charles Euchner today for details.