COSTELLO STORY SESSIONS


LIZZIE COSTELLO
Owner, Creative Director, Instructor
Writing Samples
Our parent company
Let me help you break through your writer's block
In college and in my early writing career, I spent a lot of time staring at blank pages, fighting feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and imperfection, which all fed the inertia keeping me from writing anything. Back then, I wish I had had someone encouraging me to simply put words on the page and trust that the story would come, a lesson it took me a long time to learn. Back then, I wish I had discovered what Hemingway meant when he advised writers to, "Write the truest thing you know."
When it comes to creating art, we can spend a lot of time talking about how to do it and learning from those who do it well, both of which are important, or we can spend more time doing. I'm a huge believer in education, and I'm also a huge believer in action. I think people who have stories they want to tell but struggle to tell them have not had enough experience simply putting words on the page. It's like an athlete who studies the best games of all time, but seldom gets on the field.
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It is my experience with this imbalance of too much talking and not enough doing that inspired me to want to help others persevere through the challenges of beginning to tell a story. In particular, I feel compelled to help those whose minds and hearts are currently primed for storytelling — those who have collected many life stories and feel an urgency to imprint them on the world.
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Nothing gets me excited quite like a sensory prompt, being in a room with other storytellers, and eliciting the stories that reside in each of us. I cannot wait to begin this storytelling journey with you.​
EXPERIENCE
Costello Productions
2018 — Present
Children's Hospital Colorado
2009 — 2018
MC2 Internship Program
2011 — 2022
Owner and Creative Director at Costello Productions, an award-winning film and video production company that makes impact documentaries for corporations and large non-profits.
Senior writer and video producer at one of the top ten children's hospitals in the country. I've interviewed hundreds of patients and families, caregivers, and executives to elicit the most compelling stories about survival, hope, and perseverance. I even produced, edited, and co-wrote a coffee table book.
For eleven years, I helped dozens of students in the Medical Career Collaborative generate content for their college application essays, shape that content into compelling narratives, and polish them for their applications.