Instructor Elissa Bassist is the author of the memoir Hysterical, a semifinalist for The Thurber Prize for American Humor, and she edited the column "Funny Women" for The Rumpus from 2009 to 2025. She's worked in media and publishing since 2007, as an editor, a managing editor, a TV and film writer's assistant, a producer, a performer, a speaker, and a barista. She's worked for The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, McSweeney's, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and more, a lot more. Her humor and sad essays have appeared in over 30 publications and anthologies, and she's taught for over 20 writing programs. Her next book is Inside Jokes, a humor writing craft book, co-written with Caitlin Kunkel and forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2026. Elissa lives in Brooklyn and is probably her therapist's favorite.

Who is this class for?

This online writing seminar is for writers of all experience levels and genres who care about sentences and want to learn the foundational craft skills that most writing programs don't teach. Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, comedy, or tragedy, if you want your prose to sound unmistakably like you, this class is for you.

What to expect:

When is writing bad? When anyone could have written it. In this one-session online writing seminar, Elissa Bassist will cover every element of style and how to use each one to sound like you on the page and to write better "on the sentence level." Craft and style decisions are as important as plot, structure, and characterization — and in this class, you'll learn how to wield them with intention.

During the first 60 minutes, Elissa will deliver a dynamic lecture (with pep-talks given upon request), reading stylish examples from across fiction, nonfiction, comedy, and tragedy — and breaking down what makes them work and how to emulate them. For the next 45 minutes, students will complete writing exercises to practice the craft techniques covered in the lecture and self-review a short work-in-progress to make real-time improvements. The final 15 minutes open up for Q&A, where students can ask Elissa anything about writing, publishing, style, voice, comedy, tragedy — literally anything.

Please note: since this is a short seminar, there will not be individual feedback on student work. However, everyone will receive take-home assignments, handouts, and a comprehensive (but fun) style guide to continue sharpening your sentences long after class ends.

What are the writing goals?

In this seminar, students will practice every element of style — including diction, syntax, and description — through in-class writing exercises. Students will also bring a short work-in-progress (a paragraph or page) to self-review and apply style fixes during the session. All students will leave with take-home assignments, handouts, and a style guide for continued practice.

COURSE OUTLINE

Session: Sunday, May 17, 2026 — 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM ET

Part 1 (60 minutes): Craft Lecture — Elissa covers every element of style, reading and analyzing examples from fiction, nonfiction, comedy, and tragedy, breaking down what works and how to emulate it.

Part 2 (45 minutes): Writing Exercises — Students practice the techniques covered in the lecture and self-review a paragraph or page they brought to class, making minor fixes in session.

Part 3 (15 minutes): Open Q&A — Students can ask Elissa anything about writing, publishing, style, voice, or any topic at all.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn and practice every element of style — word choice, sentence structure, specific and significant details — to write cleaner, clearer sentences that stick with readers
• Get better at deleting words and phrases you don't need that distract readers
• Expand skills like creating imagery and expanding emotional range
• Break patterns that make your writing sound monotonous
• Learn many types of sentences for more intentional pacing and rhythm
• Figure out, once and for all, how to make your writing sound like your voice

TESTIMONIALS:

"I loved this class. Elissa was an extremely generous teacher/storyteller. I think listening to her talk about her experience/struggles to get words on the page was the most valuable part. I was amazed with Elissa’s ability to focus and maintain passion and energy for 3 straight hours. I was completely engaged in her personal writing journey and was satisfied with spending 3 hours listening to her speak." -former student

"This was a fun class! I found Elissa's personal takes and experiences in both the process and in finding a home for her writing most valuable. The process seems much more manageable to me now, and I would take another class with Elissa." -former student

"I heard about WritingWorkshop.com via Hippocampus Magazine. I'm so happy I found Elissa's class, which was filled with many small insights that added up to a lot. I left the class feeling inspired. Thank you." -former student

"Elissa's seminar exceeded my expectations! She provided real-world solutions for rejection and included so many thought-provoking prompts. This class was so rich with information it could have easily been a 6-week course."-former student

"This class was SO, SO GOOD!!!! By far, my favorite ever of the many many I have taken with Catapult, Grubstreet, Porch, CFF, and WritingWorkshops.com. Big compliments! Thank you!!! Learned a lot and was furiously taking down notes; what marvelous advice and stories you have. Can't wait to read HYSTERICAL and the books that will come after that." -former student