I know what’s on your mind.
You’re wondering if we’re a good match.
You want to know if my services are worth it.
You need proof that I can deliver on my promises and help you achieve your goals.
I get it. If I’m going to invest in myself, I need that proof, too.
Listen to what former clients and students have to say about our work together.
PERSONAL COACHING
“Lisa has read two manuscripts for me now, one a short piece of narrative nonfiction and one a full-length novel. Her feedback on both was excellent. She provided an overview document with detailed suggestions on the narrative arc, character development, and more. She also provided page-by-page suggestions and line edits on the entire manuscript. I would highly recommend Lisa even to the most experienced writer.“ – Katie Rose Guest Pryal, author of Entanglement
“Since I’ve known Lisa Ellison (we met at the VQR conference in August 2015), her incisive commentary on my work has been extraordinarily helpful. It’s easy to see from the outset that she’s genuine and generous, and puts those traits to work in everything she does. Apart from the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of writing, which she is also good at, she got me to see my work in a different way and to imagine new possibilities. What more could you ask for?” – Phil Quam, Indonesia, author of “Inmates,” published in Word Riot
“When I started to work with Lisa, I was trying to transition from scholarly writing to a genre that people would actually want to read, and it proved to be a very difficult move: I was not at all prepared to take the kind of risk that personal essays require. As a teacher and writing coach, Lisa reads thoughtfully and critically, yet she is eminently respectful; she offers gently persistent suggestions but wants the finished product to be entirely your own work. She considers the structure of the work and the balance between scenes and exposition as well as the voice and style, flags the passages that move her, finds opportunities to strengthen a piece of writing and encourages you to keep working on it, even when you’ve taken it as far as you think is possible.” –Philip Lawton, Keswick, VA
Classes and Seminars
“Lisa is both an accomplished teacher and very talented practitioner of mindful writing. She is a very capable, empathic and insightful writing teacher, who creates and sustains a safe, warm space for students to learn and become successful mindful writers themselves. Lisa is nurturing, attentive and generous — everything one wants in a teacher of such a practice. Students will benefit from her kind, insightful and truly mindful attention, and will grow under her tutelage and guidance.” Rita Hart, book publisher Melbourne, Australia
“As a mental health counselor, award-winning essayist and editor, and an early student of Brene Brown, there is no better person to teach a course on forgiving real-life characters than Lisa Ellison. Her empathic approach to coaching–coupled with her expert insight into the ins and outs of the forgiveness process–left me in awe of my ability to reckon with the complicated, lovable people who play a role in my story. I walked away from Lisa’s course a changed writer.” Dana Mich, writer and founder of the Moving Forewords Memoir Collective
“I almost didn’t take this course. At the eleventh hour a tiny voice from within suggested that maybe, just maybe, I should change my mind. I’m so happy I did. Lisa Ellison guided us in a thoughtful and heartfelt way. She gave so much of herself as she created a safe space for each of us. I now have a much deeper appreciation for the art of forgiveness. Not only do I practice what I learned with other people, I’ve turned that lens on myself. It was exactly what my memoir-in-progress needed to take it to the next level. Self-forgiveness, in my humble opinion, is the most important and the hardest to do.” Paula Boyland, writer, proofreader, and host of Virtually the Write Time
“The course promised a lot and Lisa really delivered. She adapted to our needs throughout the course.”
“Lisa is the most compassionate yet knowledgeable instructor I’ve ever worked with. Her preparedness, structure, and time management are superb.”
“I didn’t ever think I would finish this book, but now I think I have a chance.”
“Lisa is the best instructor I’ve ever worked with. She is wise, compassionate, and insightful.”
“If you want to learn how to write, get excellent feedback from an instructor and others in the class, this is the course for you.” Students from Memoir in a Year Part II, December 2019
“Great topic for CNF writers and fantastic resources handed out to attendees!“
“I learned many useful tips from this workshop. Tips I plan to incorporate when I write about traumatic events in my life.”
“The presenter was extremely well versed in her subject, and offered useful tools for writers, even those who are on the fence about calling what they’ve experienced ‘trauma.’ I almost didn’t go to this session because the term trauma is overused these days, but I’m very glad I did. I also appreciate the workbook she printed for all attendees, making it more likely that we’ll bring the tools she shared into our everyday writing lives.” 2019 HippoCamp Conference Participants, “Writing about Trauma without Retraumatizing Yourself” Summer, 2019