The Art of Storytelling

Learn powerful storytelling techniques to captivate your readers.

Because the principles of storytelling are universal, this class drew on brilliant storytellers from a wide range of genres, including writers like Ernest Hemingway, Joan Didion, and Tina Fey, as well as stand-up comics like Louis CK and Mike Birbiglia.

Participants watched scenes from films like The Bourne Identity, Up, and Casablanca, and from shows like Louie, Breaking Bad, and True Detective. They listened to stories from The Moth and This American Life and looked closely at how storytelling works across forms.

Through all of this, the class broke down the principles of good storytelling:

• vulnerability
• suspense
• goal and obstacle
• action and reaction
• cause and effect

Students learned how to apply those techniques in their own work, whether they wanted to write fiction or nonfiction, stories or essays, a Moth story or a TED talk.

You learned how to:

• tap into your creativity, find your voice, and tell a story that moves people
• craft a plot using the principles of story structure
• use suspense, tension, and conflict to hook your readers
• express yourself and your personality in an honest, authentic way that connects with people