Description

Whether your dream is to write a bestselling novel, design an award-winning advertisement, create inspiring content for your presentation or to 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.

Creative Storytelling and Creative Writing

“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) – YOU.

Acquired skills

  • Mastering the art of storytelling (“Show Don’t Tell” techniques)
  • Thinking imaginatively, creatively with an “outside the box” attitude
  • Writing for the audience with an ability to make them see your point of view
  • Selling your idea, concept or product through a variety of narrative tools and methods (presentation, advertisement, blog, CV, essay, public speech)
  • Enhancing your English vocabulary, composition and writing style

General information

Course term: 124.07. - 04.08.

Free seats: 2

Price: 900 €

Category: Personal Development & Communication Skills

Status: Few places left

Deadline: 30.06.2023

Lecturer

Katerina Toholova & team

CV

Charles University

Bio

Káťa is a former journalist, now a PR specialist, writer, presenter, mother and wife. Now she works for the Beauty of Help Foundation and a film festival, writes books (about personal branding, fake news, human stories and also fairy tales). She loves her work, family and dancing. She says the Harry Potter series is the best book in the world, because nothing beats entering Hogwarts for the first time at the age of eleven. She loves fairy tales and believes in miracles.

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PhDr. Zuzi Lešková, PhD

While creative copywriting, employer branding and public speaking have always been in the centre of her attention, Zuzi is simply obsessive about anything that has to do with communication. She has developed several branding campaigns for big corporations or smaller businesses, obtained a PhD in marketing communication at Victoria University in Melbourne, have been working as a leading lecturer of various communication classes at top universities both in Australia and the Czech Republic and she especially enjoys turning her current profession of a copywriter into a hobby (writing blogs and books because, as Zuzi puts it: "not only does it sound good to say it, it simply feels good to do it").

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PhDr. William Pattison

Dr. Pattison runs a European marketing agency specializing in digital promotions & events. He is also the Marketing Communications Director for the European Digital Marketing & Local Search Association. Previous to this he worked for large global corporations in senior leadership positions. These companies include 3M, Eli Lilly and The University of New York. Dr. Pattison has taught for such universities as Charles University, LaSalle University, Pittsburgh University, University of New York Tirana, University of New York Belgrade and the University of New York Prague. Mr. Pattison has been teaching for European Summer School since 2015.

Schedule

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

Course is running: Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 14:00

Course outline

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.
  • Davnes, 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.

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.

Assessments

  • attendance in class 15%
  • team assignment 40%
  • individual assignment 35%
  • exam 10% (optional, if required by home University)

Course time total 125 hours

  1. Course runs 2 weeks Monday to Friday 9:00-14:00
  2. Total time of in-class work = 50hours
  3. Preliminary assignment = 10hours
  4. Preparation = 65hours

Price

Course fee includes the course itself, application fee, study materials, afternoon/evening social activities and events, welcome and goodbye drink as part of the graduation party. Other expenses, such as meals, accommodation, insurance, personal expenses, public transportation ticket, extra activities (such as trips outside of town over the weekend and entrance fees), and required equipment (i.e. pencils, paper for illustrations) are not included in the price.

Please note, after the 30th of April 2023 there will be a late enrollment fee charged in the amount of 50EUR on top of the course fee.

Terms and Conditions - Cancellation fees

Costs of living in Prague

Accommodation

For accommodation options, please visit the dedicated page

*Program/Course Outline is subject to change.