In Cold Type: How To Use the Techniques That Made Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" a Masterpiece

by Charles Euchner

Telling a story requires more than describing “one thing after another.” If you have a tale to tell, you need to deploy a complete palate of techniques—describing characters and motivations, and understanding the “world of the story.” Interspersing action and background, ratcheting up the tension.When Truman Capote published In Cold Blood, a chilling account of the brutal murders of a Kansas farm family, he produced a true-crime story that has given nightmares to readers for generations. He also produced a literary masterpiece, filled with powerful lessons for writers in all fields.With every page, Capote offers a masterclass in storytelling. Now, in this tight little guide, Charles Euchner reveals Capote’s techniques. You can apply these techniques not only to stories, but also to journalism, issue analysis, business writing, and more.In Charles Euchner's In Cold Type, you will learn simple, actionable hacks that will help you write all the pieces of your work—and then string them together to create a dynamic narrative. This tight little guide offers simple, actionable lessons for journalists, book authors, public speakers, scriptwriters, and anyone else who wants to tap into the power of narrative.Capote's mastery of the English language and long-form narrative elevates his work to one of the greatest pieces of literature of the twentieth century. In Cold Type offers a rich array of simple “tricks of the trade” that all writers can use in writing for newspapers and magazines, books, documentaries and film.Consider these lessons of In Cold Type:Avoid the use of chapters in books.Alternate scenes and summaries to engage the reader physically but also give the reader a necessary “break in the action.”Start and finish strongly at every level of writing—sentences, paragraphs, sections, parts, whole books.Explain abstract ideas by showing people in action.In Cold Type not only belongs in the library of every writer and editor, but also academics, critics, and readers trying to make sense of Truman Capote’s unique contribution to the “New Journalism.” (For a detailed overview of the book, see the Table of Contents below.)ABOUT THE AUTHORCharles Euchner — the author or editor of a dozen books who has taught writing at Yale and directed a think tank at Harvard — is the creator and principal of The Elements of Writing.Euchner's Nobody Turn Me A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington (Beacon Press, 2010), has been praised as a dramatic reinterpretation of the civil rights movement. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called it “dynamic ... sharp, riveting.” Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize, called it “compelling and dramatic.” Curtis Wilkie, a longtime chronicler of civil rights, says the book provides “a panorama of vivid characters.” Roger Wilkins, a former White House aide in the civil rights era, said it “brings it all back in vivid detail.”

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2013

About the author

Charles Euchner is the author or editor of eight books. He teaches writing at Yale University and was the founding executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard University.

Reviews

[R. Templeton Kain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nailed it.

Mr.Euchner breaks down Capote's brilliant work into manageable, understandable pieces. and all without desecrating the whole. He weaves literary, scholarly details into In Cold Type, and offers up example after example of Capote's text as evidence of such. I will read this book over and over as I write and rewrite my own work of fiction.