THE INNER CRITIC IS NOT YOUR ANCESTOR! A Language Lab in Voice, Revision, and the Craft of Authorial Authority // with Tasjha Wanonah Dixon

Every writer hears internal commentary while composing. The craft question is not whether those voices exist—but which ones deserve editorial authority.

Writing rarely emerges fully formed.

Instead, it develops through a dynamic process of drafting, questioning, revising, and reshaping. During this process many writers encounter internal commentary—voices that challenge tone, structure, word choice, and authority.

Some of these voices sharpen the work. Others interrupt it.

This six-week writing studio examines the relationship between creative voice and editorial craft.

Rather than attempting to silence internal criticism, the course explores how writers can transform internal dialogue into a productive revision process.

Participants will consider how attention and discernment influence creative authority.

At its core, however, the course focuses on craft development.

Participants will explore techniques for refining voice, shaping tonal range, structuring individual pieces, and organizing writing into a cohesive manuscript.

Over six weeks participants compose and revise a small body of work that becomes a personal chapbook manuscript.

The final session focuses on sequencing and manuscript design so that participants leave the course with a coherent chapbook draft ready for further revision or publication.

Week By Week 

Weekly Craft Inquiry Zones

Week 1:  Voice and Tonal Signature

How writers develop a recognizable stylistic presence.

Week 2:  Editorial Discernment

Distinguishing productive editorial instincts from restrictive self-censorship.

Week 3:  Tonal Range

Exploring shifts in emotional register and narrative perspective.

Week 4:  Structural Revision

Refining individual pieces through deliberate structural choices.

Week 5:  Manuscript Cohesion

Selecting and revising work that contributes to a unified collection.

Week 6:  Chapbook Assembly

Sequencing and organizing writing into a cohesive manuscript.

Course Format

Most craft instruction takes place asynchronously on the Wet Ink platform.

Participants engage with weekly craft materials, examples, and writing explorations on their own schedule throughout the week.

The weekly Zoom gatherings are not instructional lectures. Instead they function as community literary salons where participants share writing developed during the week and listen closely to one another’s work. 

These sessions emphasize observation, reflection, and creative community rather than formal instruction.

These hybrid online classes are hosted on the Wet Ink teaching platform with additional live sessions on Zoom. The Zoom sessions will be recorded and shared with registrants. 

Students will receive an invitation to the Wet Ink platform the day before the course begins. 

Wet Ink allows participants to post writing, respond to peers, track revisions, and access weekly craft materials.

Live Zoom sessions take place Fridays from 1:30–3:30 PM CST and will be recorded for participants who cannot attend in real time.

Who Finds Their Way Into This Class?

This studio often attracts writers who are fascinated by how drafts become finished work.

Participants frequently include:

• poets preparing their first chapbook manuscript
• essayists shaping personal writing into cohesive collections
• academics interested in developing a stronger authorial voice
• journal writers ready to transform private writing into crafted pieces
• experienced writers seeking a structured environment for revision

You may find this course especially useful if you have ever:

• accumulated many drafts but struggled to organize them into a collection
• wondered how writers develop a distinctive voice over time
• been curious about the editorial decisions behind published books
• wanted to better understand how revision shapes finished writing

Participants do not need extensive writing experience. What matters most is curiosity about the craft decisions that transform drafts into finished work.

If cost is a barrier, we offer scholarships based on income as well as some partial scholarships for people living with serious illness and/or disability or people of color. Please fill out this scholarship application form so that we can find the best way to make the class accessible to you. 

What people are saying about learning with Tasjha:

"Radiant"

"Magnetic"

"Devotee"

"Unapologetically Hilarious"

"Visionary Leader"

"The BEST facial expressions!" (I love that one!)

Where and When Does this Online Course Meet?

These hybrid online classes are hosted on the Wet Ink teaching platform with additional live sessions on Zoom.

Students will receive an invitation to the Wet Ink platform the day before the course begins. 

Wet Ink allows participants to post writing, respond to peers, track revisions, and access weekly craft materials.

Live Zoom sessions take place Fridays from 1:30–3:30 PM CST and will be recorded for participants who cannot attend in real time.

About the Facilitator

Tasjha Wanonah Dixon is a writer, educator and spoken word poet who approaches language as both craft and catalyst. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500). Her teaching explores how words function in the world—how they capture attention, shape narrative, challenge assumptions, and invite new ways of seeing. Through studio-based writing courses and spoken word laboratories, Tasjha encourages participants to study the architecture of language while developing their own creative authority. She is the founder of Empowering KC, a creative practice dedicated to writing, community dialogue, and embodied awareness. Her work invites writers to approach language not only as expression, but as a deliberate act of design.