Three steps to a short story: gaze, structure and magic. A journey through the creative process of writing a short story, from the first creative spark, through its development as a narrative to the final editing step, which often provides the magic that makes a good story into an excellent one. The genesis of the ideas, the writer´s fertile gaze, how to build a story and how to find the best words to tell it, what to say and what not, suggestion, metaphors and the art of deepening the meaning of the texts: over 6 classes we will travel the path of the storyteller. Of course, the workshop will be eminently practical, with exercises and story writing, while the reading and analysis of supporting texts will guide the learning process.

Of interest to both novice writers and writers with some experience who would like to strengthen their storytelling skills.

Course Spanish/English by Ruben Abella and Chiki Fabregat

Language of instruction: Spanish and English (stories can be written in Spanish, English or Papiamentu) | Duration: 10 days | Contact hours: 25 | Level: Beginner and advanced | Teacher: Ruben Abella

Course Dutch/English by Frank Tazelaar

Language of instruction: Dutch and English (stories can be written in Dutch, English or Papiamentu) | Duration: 10 days | Contact hours: 20 | Level: Beginner and advanced | Teacher: Frank Tazelaar

We will be offering a second level course with a maximum of 10 students. Central in this course is your writing project, which you will discuss and work on.

Course Dutch/English by Frank Tazelaar

Language of instruction: Dutch and English (stories can be written in Dutch, English or Papiamentu | Duration: 6 days | Contact hours: 18 | Level: advanced | Teacher: Frank Tazelaar

From the body, to the mind, through the heart. Gordon Lish, a famous literary editor once said: «It´s not about what happens to people on a page; it´s about what happens to a reader in his heart and mind».

This masterclass explores the creative use of emotions, as tools, in our own writing. The workshop takes a three-pronged approach. The characters of a story consist of 3 parts: the physical body, where sensations manifest themselves, the heart, where feelings and emotions live and the brain, where the mind thinks, draws conclusions and makes decisions. Likewise, the reader and the writer are composed of those same 3 parts. Knowing how these 3 components work together is key to one’s writing and, especially, to the approach to emotions.

Of interest to writers with some experience who are looking to add depth to their characters.

Course information:
These classes are part of the Creative Writing course. Language of instruction: English (class 1) and Spanish (class 2) | Duration: 2 days | Contact hours: 4 | Teacher: Mariana Torres

Embracing Multiple Identities - Caribbean Literature and identity. The Capita Selecta lectures are presented by lecturers and researchers from the University of Curaçao. They will introduce you to the history and current state of Caribbean literature and culture. Of interest to anyone studying language and identity in the Antilles, Europe and South America.

This course is open to all students, and takes place next to the regular courses.

Lectures: Caribbean literature and identity (Embracing Multiple Identities) Lectures | language of instruction: English | duration: 1 days | contact hours: 3 | lecturer: Dr Liesbeth Echteld

Creative Writing is a four-year bachelor degree offered by ArtEZ Institute for the Arts in Arnhem. We prepare you for a hybrid professional career, helping you develop and apply both your creative and practical skills. The degree programme focuses on the creation of autonomous literary work, as well as the application of these skills to transmedia storytelling and non-fiction: reportage, essay writing and documentary making. You will also be taught to use these skills alongside or in support of other disciplines. The teachers are all professional practitioners and the curriculum is constantly in flux because it responds to developments in the literary world. This is possible thanks to the institute’s flat organisation. Authors teaching on the programme include Els Moors, Erik Jan Harmens, Tsead Bruinja and Alma Mathijssen.

The University of Curaçao was founded in 1979, and consists of five faculties: Law, Engineering and Electrical Systems, Social Sciences and Economics, General Arts, and Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Wintertuin Curaçao connects people through literature and storytelling. Wintertuin Curaçao seeks to promote Curaçao art and culture in a socially relevant way. One of our projects, Kurá di Kuenta, is a literary skills development programme for peopled aged eighty and over. As part of this programme, young Curaçao writers and students spend six months helping elderly people remember and record their stories. The result will be published, made available via a podcast and presented on stage. From 2018 onwards, we will be hosting two annual editions of Kurá di Kuenta. For this innovative project with the elderly we have established collaborations with local partners in the education, culture and care sectors. Kurá di Kuenta is a success and has given rise to several follow-up projects in which literature, storytelling and writing form the connecting thread. In the next few years, we will be focusing on projects with a social impact, on education, events and helping talented young writers achieve independent careers.

Escuela de Escritores is a highly rated centre of Creative Writing teaching in the Spanish-speaking world. In the last 15 years, more than ten thousand students have attended our classes in Madrid, Burgos and Zaragoza and our online courses. A wide variety of courses, from beginners to advanced levels, provide comprehensive and well-structured learning pathways.

From 2009, Escuela de Escritores has offered the Master’s Course in Narrative, the Art & the craft, the first full programme in Spain specifically designed to train writers. Our team brings together many of the most skilled and talented Creative Writing teachers from Spain and Latin America and writers like Alessandro Baricco, Enrique Vila-Matas, Almudena Grandes and Juan Mayorga regularly give lectures and meet the students.

Escuela de Escritores is a member of the European Association of Creative Writing Programmes (EACWP), along with most of the main European universities and private schools focused on teaching Creative Writing. Due to the impact our programmes have in the Americas, we are also the first European school to be accepted in the Red de Programas de Escritura de las Américas, a network that brings together institutions from Latin and North America with Creative Writing programmes in Spanish.

Connected by writing and our passion for teaching, different schools and institutions exchange experiences, methodologies and knowledge, and work together to improve the education we offer.