Learn how to build your writing style with carefully crafted diction, sentence structure and voice.

Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth-century critic and lexicographer, famously described language as ‘the dress of thought’.

Writers dress their thoughts differently. Some styles are lush and lyrical, others lean and restrained; some seek to enchant, others to unsettle. More than artistic flourish, style shapes meaning — it reveals a writer’s distinctive way of seeing and understanding the world.

In this workshop, we will explore the often-elusive concept of writing style. Together, we will examine how style works and how we can recognise and describe it. Then, moving from analysis to practice, we’ll develop your own style by exploring techniques through writing exercises.

Learning Outcomes

As part of this workshop, you will:

Develop the analytical skills and vocabulary to define, recognise and articulate writing style

Consider how concepts such as diction, sentence structure and voice contribute to writing style

Look closely at the work of stylists, such as Ernest Hemingway, Shirley Jackson, Alexis Wright and Max Porter, among others

Understand the link between stylistic effect and meaning

Experiment with your own writing style, through guided exercises

Connect with a community of fellow writers

Format

This is an in-person workshop with a focus on writing craft; it will be held at Queensland Writers Centre. This workshop is suitable for fiction and non-fiction writers of all levels and backgrounds.

About Martine

Martine Kropkowski is a multi-form writer, with work spanning novels, short fiction, cultural commentary and essays. She has worked as a soldier, journalist and academic. Her current research explores how aesthetic choices in fiction shape meaning. She teaches at The University of Queensland in courses focussing on narrative technique and stylistic effect, among other aspects of creative and professional writing.

Martine’s first novel Everywhere We Look was shortlisted for a Ned Kelly Award. Her ‘razor-sharp prose’ (Venero Armanno) has been described as ‘shocking and profoundly moving’ (The Conversation) and ‘visually stunning’ (Books+Publishing).

For more information about Queensland Writers Centre’s Program of Events and answers to FAQs, please visit: www.queenslandwriters.org.au/program-info