Current Offerings
Flash Creative Nonfiction Generator
Saturday Apr 25, 2026; 1-4pm Central
Through Writing Workshops
Online via Zoom (available everywhere)
Writing in the short form — 1,000 words or less — can be a powerful way to energize your essays. In this one-day online nonfiction workshop, you’ll learn techniques that create lasting depth and impact with few words, and you’ll generate fresh essay drafts that can be developed into publication-ready flash nonfiction. Whether you need a creative spark or want to sharpen your craft, this seminar offers a focused, generative experience.
Lizzie will guide you through short readings of published flash essays, generative exercises, and her honest approach to revision and publication strategy. You’ll explore the structures and techniques that make short nonfiction resonate, and you’ll put those ideas into practice through in-class writing. At the end of the session, you will receive additional flash essay readings and writing prompts to continue your work on your own.
Writing About Relationships in Personal Essays and Memoir
4-Week Workshop with Feedback
Begins Monday August 3, 2026
Through Writing Workshops
Online Asynchronous (available anytime, anywhere)
Personal essays and memoir are famously about the writer, but because humans are social creatures, it’s near impossible to write our own stories without also including other people. In this asynchronous nonfiction workshop, relationships and characters will be at the center as you untangle stories about parents, friendships, romantic partners, siblings, sworn enemies, and more. You’ll identify techniques that bring complex characters to life, discuss the ethics of writing about real people, generate new writing and ideas, and polish a full draft.
This four-week online writing class will equip you with weekly video lectures, creative and craft readings, writing prompts, and the opportunity to receive written instructor feedback on one essay of up to ten pages. Participants can expect to read published work by acclaimed writers like Carmen Maria Machado, T Kira Madden, Sarah Gerard, Minda Honey, Jo Ann Beard, and more. By the end of the course, you’ll have a host of new writing approaches, one full essay draft, pages of new ideas, and resources for revision and publication.
Experimenting with Essay Structure
4-Week Workshop with Feedback
Begins Monday September 7th, 2026
Through Writing Workshops
Online Asynchronous (available anytime, anywhere)
How do you decide what structure is right for the story you want to tell? There are many surprising shapes and structures an essay can take, from traditional narrative arcs to experimental forms such as lyric, braided, and hermit crab essays. In this online writing class, you’ll examine what makes the best essays successful, discuss how structure impacts reader experience, and experiment with new structures in your own writing.
This four-week asynchronous workshop will equip you with weekly video lectures, form-bending readings, writing prompts, and the opportunity to receive written instructor feedback on one essay of up to ten pages. You’ll read published essay examples by Melissa Febos, Lidia Yuknavitch, Samantha Irby, T Kira Madden, Kristen Arnett, and more. By the end of this creative writing course, you’ll have a clear understanding of the wide-ranging possibilities within the essay genre, one full essay draft, pages of new ideas, and resources for revision and publication.
Testimonials
“Lizzie made class feel like a chill, yet super informed writing workshop. She made everyone feel welcomed and included. Her knowledge helped my writing tenfold. If you get the chance to take a class with her I 100% recommend!”
— Hannah Backman
“Lizzie provided an atmosphere of creativity and openness within the vulnerable space of a writing class. She always provided sincere feedback, and her leadership led to respectful and useful feedback from the other participants. I left the class feeling inspired to continue on my writing journey!”
— Liz
“The readings were excellent – I’ve been introduced to new writers and developed obsessions with a few. I’ve also written an essay – probably the best thing I’ve ever written – that I’ve been wanting to write for about six months, but needed a pop culture vehicle to tell the story through. Anyway, thought it was fabulous.” — Former Student
“Lizzie exposed us to so many unique voices/perspectives and always generated a comfortable environment to share our work in. The essay selection was phenomenal.” — Former Student
“My favorite quote from Lizzie was ‘you don’t have to tell a story only once.’ I can’t explain it well, but it opened a door somewhere in my writer’s mind. I don’t have to be scared I’ll mess up a piece and that memory will be wasted. I can simply start again.” — Former Student
“The feedback that Lizzie provided was really detailed, constructive, and thorough. You can tell she really cared about making us better writers.” — Former Student
“I was offered feedback on a very personal essay I wrote for this class—Lizzie was gentle, practical, and helpful in her approach to helping me write and edit this piece. Her advice on other students’ writing also provided a great perspective for a broad range of pieces.” — Former Student
Lizzie Lawson 