Begins Monday, August 3, 2026

This is a 4-week asynchronous online writing workshop via the Wet Ink classroom.

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us. 

Instructor Lizzie Lawson is a writer and teaching artist from Minneapolis, MN. Her work has been published in Electric Literature, The Florida Review, The Sun, The Rumpus, Passages North, Split Lip Magazine, Wigleaf, and more. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Ohio State, where she served as nonfiction editor for The Journal, and she's currently working on a collection of essays about leaving the Catholic Church. She currently teaches writing and humanities at Augsburg University, Southern New Hampshire University, and The Loft Literary Center.

Who is this class for?

This online writing workshop is for creative nonfiction writers who want to explore messy, complicated, and illuminating relationships on the page. Whether you're interested in building complex characters, curious about the ethics of representing real people, or looking for inspiration and feedback, this class welcomes all levels.

What to expect:

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.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will:

• Discover techniques that bring characters to life
• Discuss the ethics of writing about real people
• Read published essay examples from acclaimed nonfiction writers
• Generate one full essay of up to ten pages
• Receive written instructor feedback on their draft

Readings

Readings may include published essays by Carmen Maria Machado, T Kira Madden, Sarah Gerard, Minda Honey, Jo Ann Beard, and others.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week One: Writing about friendship and creating compelling characters. We'll explore essays about friendships that span many years and the ones from childhood that still occupy our memory. We'll identify techniques to create dynamic characters and complete a generative writing exercise.

Week Two: Writing about family and handling multiple characters on the page. We'll delve into nonfiction about mothers, fathers, and other close family members. We'll examine techniques for encapsulating shared histories and handling multiple characters without confusion and complete a generative writing exercise.

Week Three: Writing about romantic partners and the ethics of writing about real people. We'll discuss essays about romantic partners, from brief Tinder dates to a married spouse. We'll also dig deep into the ethical question of representing others with readings from published authors. Participants will do another writing exercise and also share ideas for their workshop essay.

Week Four: Essay feedback and revision techniques. Students will receive written feedback on up to 10 double-spaced pages as well as strategies for revision and publication.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Techniques for creating dynamic, complex characters drawn from real life
• Strategies for handling multiple characters on the page without confusion
• A deeper understanding of the ethics of writing about real people
• One full essay draft of up to ten pages with written instructor feedback
• Pages of new generative writing and ideas from weekly exercises
• Resources and strategies 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

"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

"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

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class is asynchronous, meaning you complete the weekly assignments on your own schedule. There are no set meeting times in order to allow for greater participation; your cohort will consist of writers from across different time zones, which allows for a wonderful diversity of voices.

Along with your weekly deadlines, there is plenty of interaction with Lizzie and your peers within Wet Ink, our dedicated online classroom. Craft materials, lectures, reading assignments, and writing prompts are all available through the online classroom. Students also post work and provide and receive feedback within the online classroom environment.

You can finish the work as you see fit week-to-week, which is perfect for any schedule. There are discussion questions each week inspired by the assigned readings and topics in the lecture notes. Students are encouraged to take these wherever is most compelling and/or useful for them. Lizzie engages with these discussions throughout the week, and you will receive feedback from all assigned writing activities.

HOW DOES WET INK WORK?

Wet Ink was built and designed specifically for online writing classes. Wet Ink is private, easy to use, and very interactive. You can learn more about the Wet Ink platform by Watching a Class Demo.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $330 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Lizzie Lawson
• Begins Monday, August 3, 2026
• This is a 4-week asynchronous online workshop via the Wet Ink classroom.
• Tuition is $330 USD.