Lush Language with Gretchen Shirm

How much style is too much? Know when to use lush language, and when to keep things simple

In this workshop, we will discuss the techniques of metaphor, descriptive detail, patterns and rhythms in your prose. You will learn the difference between plain and more complex writing styles, and when to use these different styles. What is a metaphor and how does it work? When should you reach for a descriptive detail, and when should you pare your writing back? How are patterns and rhythms made in writing, and what is there effect? After this workshop, you should be more confident in using these strategies in your own writing.

Format

This is a live stream workshop, with a focus on craft; it will be held solely online via Zoom. It is a level 2 course for intermediate writers but is suitable to attend for writers of all levels: beginners, intermediate and emerging. A 7-day replay will be made available to participants.

About Gretchen

Gretchen Shirm is the author of a collection of short stories Having Cried Wolf, for which she named a 2011 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. Her first novel Where the Light Falls, was shortlisted for the 2017 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her short stories have been published in Best Australian Stories, Kill Your Darlings, the Griffith Review, Overland, Review of Australian Fiction and Southerly. Her criticism has been published widely, including in The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, Australian Book Review, The Australian, The Monthly, Art Monthly, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age.

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