European Summer School
Creative Storytelling and Creative Writing Course

Prague, Czech Republic

DEGREE TYPE

Course

DURATION

10 days

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About : This Creative Storytelling and Creative Writing Course offers a unique blend of techniques and styles to enhance your storytelling skills. Emphasizing both creative rhetoric and narrative craft, this course is ideal for aspiring writers who wish to develop their voice and refine their storytelling abilities.

Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue various career paths, including author, content creator, screenwriter, or editor. Opportunities also exist in marketing and communications, where strong storytelling skills are valued.

“Tell me a story!” Something we all have heard or said so many times. As children, it is through stories we begin to learn how the world works – and that is why we are all so strongly attracted to them. Stories can invite us into an unthinkable reality, they help us learn from the past or even see the future, they offer archetypes of good and evil and can very well play with our imagination as well as logic. A good story can sell everything – not only does this apply to books and movies, but also to everything we do in our professional and personal life. We need a story to design a strong presentation, create an effective post for social media, manage an interview, deliver a business pitch, or write an academic essay. While this course focuses on the importance of a story, we will mainly pay attention to the writer (his/her imagination, vocabulary, narrative styles, critical thinking, experience, dreams, and memories).

Description

Whether your dream is to write a bestselling novel, design an award-winning advertisement, create inspiring content for your presentation, or simply capture stories from your own life, this course will help you adopt a variety of creative writing methods and narrative styles. Not only will you learn how to write, but also how to think outside the box and develop your imagination.

Schedule: Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 14:00

Accommodation: For accommodation options, please visit the dedicated page.

Credits: You will receive an official Certificate of Attendance upon completion of your course. Please inform the organizing staff if you require any extra supplements, such as Transcript of Records. The student is eligible to receive up to 5 ECTS credits, however, please follow the instructions here and consult the acknowledgment process with your university in advance.

Course outline

Day 1: Storytelling and Creative Writing (students will receive some homework before the class starts)
Day 2: The importance of a story (historical consequences and their current influence)
Day 3:Applying storytelling to business presentations - Zuzi Leskova
Day 4: The development of a story (main structure, set-up, characters, plot) + Why every story needs some drama (conflicts, problems, arguments, and their solutions) - book writing perspective
Day 5: Creative writing techniques (metaphor, hyperbole, oxymoron, plot twist, fiction versus nonfiction writing methods)
Day 6: Who, Why, Where, and When (why you need more than a “what” in your story)
Day 7: Content and Copywriting from Business Perspective - by William Pattison
Day 8: Applying storytelling to online advertisements, social media, and blog articles - Online Ads, Social Media, Content and Copywriting - by William Pattison
Day 9: Applying storytelling to academic essays (argumentative, factual, narrative essays)
Day 10: Presentation and discussion about your coursework (share a portfolio of your creative writing pieces with the class)

*Program/Course Outline is subject to change.

Literature

Allan, D. (2002). Sticky Wisdom: How to Start a Creative Revolution at Work, Capstone, Mankato.
Anderson, C. (2017). TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, Mariner Books, New York.
Bettinghaus, E.P. (1980). Persuasive Communication. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.
Davies, K. (2009). Creative Writer's Handbook. Pearson, New York.
Harcourt, M (2012). The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston.
Harford, T. (2016). Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World. Little Brown Book Group, New York.
King, S. (2000). On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft. Scribner, New York.
Moody, S. (2014). Better English Writing: Improve Your Writing Power (Webster's Word Power). Geddes & Grosset Ltd, Glasgow.
Manson, M. (2019). The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life. Harper, London.

Assessments