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The Art of Saying More with Less: Lizzie Lawson on Flash Nonfiction
by Writing Workshops Staff
A week ago
Some of Lizzie Lawson's all-time favorite essays are less than a page long. That's not a footnote to how she thinks about writing. It's the whole argument. The flash form, in her view, isn't about writing small. It's about writing with precision sharp enough to make every line count, and then carrying that precision into everything else you do on the page.
Lizzie holds an MFA from Ohio State, where she served as nonfiction editor for The Journal, and her essays have appeared in Electric Literature, The Florida Review, The Sun, The Rumpus, Passages North, Split Lip Magazine, Wigleaf, and elsewhere. She currently teaches writing at Augsburg University, Southern New Hampshire University, and The Loft Literary Center, and she is completing her first essay collection about coming of age in and leaving the Catholic Church. In her generative Flash Nonfiction Generator, a one-day online seminar offered this April at WritingWorkshops.com, the official education partner of Electric Literature, students will draft three flash essays in a single session, study published examples across a range of voices, and leave with both a targeted submission list and a set of prompts to keep generating on their own.
The class is built for nonfiction writers at every level who want fresh material, sharper line-level instincts, and honest answers about revision and publication. At $99 for a three-hour Saturday session, it's one of the most focused investments you can make in your writing practice this spring.
Here is our Meet the Teaching Artist Interview with Lizzie:
Writing Workshops: Hi, Lizzie. Please introduce yourself to our audience.
Lizzie Lawson: Hi, I'm Lizzie! I'm from Minneapolis and got my MFA from Ohio State. I'm currently in the final revision stages on my first collection of essays, which is about coming of age in (and leaving) the Catholic Church. As an avid journaler, creative nonfiction became my natural genre of choice. I'm especially drawn to writing with sensory details, dynamic characters, and humor.
Writing Workshops: What made you want to teach this specific class? Is it something you are focusing on in your own writing practice? Have you noticed a need to focus on this element of craft?
Lizzie Lawson: As a reader, I'm continuously amazed by what writers can do in a short space. Some of my all-time favorite essays are less than a page long. And as a writer, the flash form is a fun challenge that forces you to sharpen skills at the line level. A lot of the tools we use to create effective flash essays will also make any piece of writing tighter and more engaging. Even when I'm writing a twenty-page essay, I want to be economical with my words.
The generative nature of this class is wonderful for anyone who wants to leave with pages of new ideas. I like to offer prompts that help writers find new pathways into existing subjects or discover entirely new ones. I've also had students generate projects that grow into longer essays, which is not a bad problem to have.
"A lot of the tools we use to create effective flash essays will also make any piece of writing tighter and more engaging. Even when I'm writing a twenty-page essay, I want to be economical with my words."
Writing Workshops: Give us a breakdown of how the course is going to go. What can the students expect? What is your favorite part about this class you've dreamed up?
Lizzie Lawson: We will divide our time between short readings and writing exercises that are loosely inspired by the reading. Students can expect to spend a good portion of the class writing to prompts and having the option to read a portion for the group. Everyone will leave with additional readings and prompts to try on their own as well as a list of publications to submit their work. My favorite part is hearing the variety of ideas that come out of the prompts.
Writing Workshops: Who was your first literary crush?
Lizzie Lawson: The first time I read a book that made me jealous I didn't write it was back in fifth grade when I read A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was OBSESSED with those books. I thought they were so clever and dark, and I got super wrapped up in the mystery. I also liked that they taught me new vocabulary like "penultimate" and "calamitous."
Writing Workshops: What are you currently reading?
Lizzie Lawson: Hemlock by Melissa Faliveno.
In three hours, you'll draft three flash essays, study what makes short nonfiction land, and leave knowing exactly where to send your work. One Saturday. Real pages.
Enroll in Flash Nonfiction Generator →Writing Workshops: How do you choose what you're working on? When do you know it is the next thing you want to write all the way to THE END?
Lizzie Lawson: I gather ideas for a new project into a document as they come to me. This could be scenes, bits of dialogue, images, inspiration that strikes a certain vibe, etc. Once the document grows long enough that I can't ignore it, I go back in and sift through everything, trying to find patterns and connecting threads. If I can see the outlines of a full narrative, then I'll go all in, but I have to feel excited about it. There has to be something special in that document that speaks to me and makes me want to see the project through.
Writing Workshops: Where do you find inspiration?
Lizzie Lawson: From other art! I like going to movies, local theater productions, concerts, author events, and museums. Seeing other art and artists in the world inspires me to keep pushing my writing forward and setting high standards for myself.
What Students Are Saying
"The feedback that Lizzie provided was really detailed, constructive, and thorough. You can tell she really cared about making us better writers."
"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 vehicle to tell the story through."
"Lizzie exposed us to so many unique voices and perspectives and always generated a comfortable environment to share our work in. The essay selection was phenomenal."
"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."
Writing Workshops: What is the best piece of writing wisdom you've received that you can pass along to our readers? How did it impact your work? Why has this advice stuck with you?
Lizzie Lawson: A writing instructor once told me "just because you have to cut something doesn't mean it's not important to you." I needed to hear this as a nonfiction writer because I kept clinging to certain details that were personally important to me but not important for my essays. Sometimes cutting one paragraph fixes an entire piece, even if that means omitting your favorite memory with your best friend. It was helpful to separate what matters to me from what matters in the writing.
"Just because you have to cut something doesn't mean it's not important to you. Sometimes cutting one paragraph fixes an entire piece, even if that means omitting your favorite memory with your best friend."
Writing Workshops: What is the worst piece of writing advice you've received, read, or heard? Why is this something you push against in your own writing practice?
Lizzie Lawson: That you have to write every day. Or that there's some secret writing routine that you have to find to unlock your potential. I rarely write every day. My practice ebbs and flows as my life changes. I've learned to set aside time for writing while also being kind to myself when it just doesn't happen. Sometimes the words come easier when I've had time away from the page.
Writing Workshops: What is your favorite book to recommend on the craft of writing? Why this book?
Lizzie Lawson: Lately, it's Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy. It brings me back to the reasons I fell in love with books and contains a lot of practical advice for fiction and nonfiction writers alike.
Writing Workshops: What's your teaching vibe?
Lizzie Lawson: I create an environment where people can be vulnerable, where we can show up as our more generous selves with the common goal of helping each other become better writers.
That environment is exactly what makes Lizzie's classroom work. Students who have taken her workshops describe leaving with the best essay they've ever written, encountering voices they hadn't read before, and finding doors opened somewhere in their writer's mind. The Flash Nonfiction Generator meets once on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM ET. Tuition is $99, with payment plans available at checkout. If you've been waiting for the right push to get new pages, this is it.
Bring your ideas. Leave with three new drafts, a submission list, and the line-level instincts that will sharpen everything you write from here on out.
Save Your Seat in Flash Nonfiction Generator →WritingWorkshops.com is an independent, artist-run creative writing school and the official education partner of Electric Literature. Since 2016, we've helped writers strengthen their voice, develop a greater understanding of craft, and forge a path to publication.
