Testimonials
Manuscript Evaluations
Developmental Editing
Coaching
Testimonial: I took Lisa’s daytime creative nonfiction class in 2017 at WriterHouse and subsequently met with her privately three or four times to revise a personal essay which is now under consideration by an outstanding literary magazine. When I started to work with her, 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. I’ve made a lot of progress in that regard, and without Lisa’s coaching, I might very well have relapsed into the cool objectivity of philosophy and finance. 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. I’ve had several pieces accepted—Silver Needle Press published a personal essay called “The Uses of Adversity,” and Flying South will soon publish a memoir piece called “After the Leaves Have Fallen”—and I’m writing every day. But I’ve just asked Lisa to guide me in revising a new essay, and I know I’ll continue to develop my craft, thanks in good part to her caring, intelligent support. July 28, 2018
Classes and Seminars
Memoir in a Year Part II: Complete and Revise the First Draft of Your Book-Length Manuscript
“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.”
“Highly recommend. Well structured; pushes you to finish manuscript, excellent feedback.”
“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.”
“I would say it will help you get to the first draft of your nonfiction book. Lisa is a fantastic teacher and mentor, but you will have to work hard.
“Run, don’t walk. 100% recommendation.
Eight Week Class: Story Matters: Forgive Your Characters, Empower Yourself
“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
“This class was informative and revelatory for my writing process. I highly recommend it!”
“Through this class, I found compassion for myself which in turn has greatly improved my writing.”
“Become the hero of your story. Take this class. It’s life-changing, empowering, freeing!”
“Patient, supportive, generous and insightful, Lisa met students where they were and then lovingly nudged us into deeper water to do the hard work. She always remained available as support.”
Conference Breakout Session: How to Write About Trauma without Retraumatizing Yourself
“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 go. 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.”
“Really well-organized presentation. The speaker’s personal and professional background lent credibility to her presentation.”
“Reassuring to get expert advice on how/when to tackle difficult experiences in writing and how to manage the process so that you can take care of yourself along the way.”
Six-Hour Workshop: The Art of Forgiveness: Writing as a Form of Letting Go (6 CEUS for Counselors)
“The focus on the writing experience The experiential activities built on one another so that we could gain insight into the process of forgiveness. Lisa is a wonderful teacher and an inspiring model.”
“I enjoyed the whole process.”
“So much helpful information. It is perfect. Lisa is a wonderful presenter. Professional and warm.”
“Very organized and well presented with a variety of activities which kept us all engaged.”
“Learning the process of forgiveness. This will be beneficial in counseling clients. Enjoyed and appreciated Lisa’s style!”
“I enjoyed that we also went through the process rather than just telling us the steps”.
“The presenter’s gentle, inviting style. It was excellent and I appreciate the opportunity.”
Yearlong Class: Memoir in a Year Part I: Writing the First Draft of Your Book-Length Memoir
“I have taken Lisa’s courses before, so I know her style, and I really like her candor, her
warmth, her encouragement and the way she treats everyone as a colleague, not a student.”
“Lisa kept everything interesting and varied the material, class activities, homework. She is
great at a variety of methods, selection of readings, and analysis.”
“Lisa is one of the most thoroughly conscientious teachers I have known. She brings a wealth
of information and compassion for the process.”
“Outstanding, thoughtful, creative instructor. Excellent preparation. Encouraging. Excellent
feedback.”
“Organized, motivating, compassionate, available. She held us accountable to our own
goals.”
“Lisa is attentive, patient and dedicated. Also caring.”
“ Lisa creates a safe space for the writer and the writing. Her knowledge and compassion are
amazing.”
Daylong Seminar: The Art of Forgiveness – A Writing Retreat (co-taught with Debora Prum)
“Instructors created a warm, safe atmosphere for dealing with a difficult topic.”
“Both instructors were excellent listeners and created a safe space.”
“Experienced and patient. Good sense of pacing and creating a safe environment.”
“Anyone dealing with hurt or pain will find this workshop useful.”
“Yes. I would say we did a fair amount of writing, which I was glad of.”
Week-Long Intensive Class: Memoir 101- The Inciting Incident
Kind, caring, compassionate above all—knowledgeable, supportive, encouraging.”
“She kept us to the task of writing in a very friendly and unthreatening ways.”
“She brings out the best in us.”
“Lisa is clearly very experienced. I appreciated how she kept us focused on the topic, and beginning and finishing on time.”
“The teaching was excellent. The classroom was a safe space as well as a place of inspiration.”
Two-Hour Seminar: (HE)ART Speaks – The Mindful Connection Between Poetry and Art (Co-taught with artist Jum Jirapan)
“Both instructors helped and participated, training the class with their processes.”
“I liked how calm and relaxing the experience created by the instructors was.”
“Open. Positive. Engaged.”
“She was great! She gave guidance and made herself available for questions.”
“Knowledgeable. Organized. Good presenter.”
“They described the work and what was expected of us and let us explore.”
Full Day Seminar: Writing to Heal: The Power of Personal Writing (6 hours CEUs)
“This was fantastic! Lisa is a wonderful and knowledgeable instructor. The material is relevant to my practice and I’m looking forward to using it with clients. This has
“Lisa Elison empowered me to feel comfortable using writing in my work at a mental health nonprofit and gave me ideas for how to make my creative writing classrooms richer and more thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness and communication leading up the event. You are clearly an expert and very organized. Thanks for a great day.”
Half-Day Seminar: The Sexy Art of Critiquing Manuscripts
“Take it! Pacing and variety of exercises excellent—great use of lecture, small groups, discussion.”
“Lisa came well-prepared with a great packet of hand-outs. She listened and responded to each person.”
“Lisa has the wonderful ability to break things down so they’re easily understood.”
“Lisa always has great hand-outs and obviously comes well-prepared. She creates an excellent balance of instruction, participation, questions, and feedback.”
Retreat: The Gifts of Grief: A Retreat on Writing Through Your Loss, (Co-taught with Deborah Prum)
“Lisa and Debby are excellent, clear, organized, insightful, and compassionate.”
“Kindness, reassurance, acceptance. It was well-structured. Writing vs non-writing activities. Time flew by.”
“Great women. Really gently and thoughtfully approached the topic as a way to make the space safe for all.”
“Very supportive environment. I really did feel the “love it to the next level.” It was instructive and interesting but required no defenses.”
“Lisa is an outstanding instructor. She is able to combine teaching the craft of writing with a sense of what is important to the writer—to write honestly and what is true for you.”
“Lisa is a gentle, knowledgeable, kind soul who is so generous with her time, talent and concern.”
“Created safe atmosphere for sharing; knowledgeable about writing challenges and how to work with them.” – WriterHouse Student
“Lisa is easy to be with, a wonderful facilitator of time. She gave excellent tips and answered questions beautifully.” – WriterHouse Student
“I loved Lisa’s fluency with mental health, holistic living material, and her continued mention of ‘what serves you.” – WriterHouse Student
“Keeps time well. Moves class along at good pace. Like the meditation moments, timed writings. She gives every person encouragement, understanding; articulates her impressions of our work well.”
“Lisa creates safe a container for difficult memories and painful feelings.”
“Excellent instruction. Personal commitment to mindfulness. She knows her discipline and can convey information from personal experience as well as scholarship in the field. Encouraging!” – WriterHouse Student
“She was very organized, gave appropriate examples, and extensive feedback. I cannot think of any ways she could improve. It was great!”
“Excellent instruction. Personal commitment to mindfulness. She knows her discipline and can convey information from personal experience as well as scholarship in the field. Encouraging!” – WriterHouse Student
“She was very organized, gave appropriate examples, and extensive feedback. I cannot think of any ways she could improve. It was great!”
“Managed the class and goals well. She had a great array of authors for us to learn from and I really liked the excerpts she read before class. Also, just being aware of our needs as writers and how we can grow!”
“Always encouraging. Knowledgeable about writing. I learned a lot about memoir.”
“Lisa has a very strong presence as a teacher and was excellent at facilitating us as a group”
“The writing exercises and mindfulness were interwoven so effectively, instructor/ encouragement really top-notch”