What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I was hesitant because of time commitment but I was at the point of needing direction to take my stories and ideas to the next level. Really glad I took the plunge and enrolled!

I looked forward to Cathie's weekly feedback. I like the fact she was tough - her own words! Her feedback was constructive and helpful. She gave me confidence that I could resolve the story to the next level while providing valuable insights into the publishing world.

I enjoyed listening to respected children's book experts; the feedback; and of being challenged - using a different story idea each week.

At the end of the course it felt great to have presented a correctly formatted manuscript with two pitches and a blurb. While some elements need work, it was satisfying to understand the whole process of writing and submitting a children's picture book.

The course has improved my writing and made me more efficient in the process. My increased understanding of the synergy between author and illustrator has helped me to focus on writing well, with an economy of words.

Several 'aha!' moments were - understanding how emotion is the driving force of fiction, discovering how helpful storyboarding the text is, and the importance of killing your darlings.

Do it! The course is enjoyable and there is so much to learn.

Thank you AWC, Valerie Khoo and Cathie Tasker.

The course was very practical and made sense. This is a good program as a pathway to defining the area of writing you're interested in, developing a plan and not letting negative thoughts get in the way of moving forward.

Stay focused, dedicate a small amount of time daily to write, and practice, practice, and practice.

I've done several of the AWC courses now, and they are excellent. Thorough, well thought through, and practical. Well worth doing.

I was very pleased that Bernadette had so much experience in publishing and as an editor. It felt like an added bonus. And she was very helpful and considered in her feedback. She took everybody's work seriously and provided great feedback and interest.

I think it has made me less fearful of receiving feedback and of the idea of perhaps pursuing the dream of being published. At the very least it has encouraged me to engage in more courses and continue writing.

I think the Australian Writers' Centre provides courses that encourage writers, especially new writers, takes them seriously and provides the opportunity for some growth through exercises and feedback that is confidence-building and overall motivating.

Great feedback! Very helpful.

Great way to find out if your plot is working as well as voice, style, tone etc from different perspectives! Embrace your unique writing style!

Bernadette was wonderful. Clear and engaging.

I enjoyed the assessments. Gave me a different way to look at story telling. Becoming aware of active and passive voice, something I struggle with.

It's straight forward enough to grasp, but feels limitless as far as prospects go.

I learnt so much! There are so many things about writing that I didn't even know I didn't know.

I thought the way the course was structured was excellent. It really led me through each stage of writing. I felt the offering was very generous with the handouts and the bonus exercises.

A novel has downloaded itself into my brain and is demanding to be written. I can't stop thinking about the characters. And I have completely changed the way I look at fiction. It's like a light bulb has been turned on in my brain. Thank you!

Understanding (as a beginner) the concepts of point of view and scenes has been revelatory. I've done lots of writing courses and no-one has ever mentioned these two fundamental concepts before. Doing the background thinking about character has basically gifted me a whole novel.

Far and away the best writing course I've done.

The information provided was easy to digest. The written material and the fact that I can now review learning tasks again is a real bonus.

I found that Cathie was approachable, gave constructive feedback and looked for positives. I liked that she didn't sugar coat feedback; it was robust and enabled me to review my written work and improve it.

I feel justified in spending time on a creative pasttime. I also feel that I have something worthy to work on and hopefully publish one day.

AWC courses give you a great starting point, a structure to learn and feedback to hone your craft.

There were so many practical pieces of information that I learnt from the course. I learnt something in each module, but I particularly found the module on structure useful.

The tutor was very affirming and supportive.

It has made me rethink POV, scenes, structure and more. I would like to think that I have walked away as a better writer even from this 5-week course.

It's a very hands-on, practical course where you get real time feedback on your work.

I enjoyed the range of different novels and extracts for each module, as well as Kate's inspirational choices of accompanying artwork.

As I had allowed myself time to complete the course when I could fully focus, I found it became part of my reflective practice. I took time to consider my own writing and areas that needed work. I began writing down scenes inspired by my consideration of different aspects of the topics Kate covered. I took obstacles in my daily life and turned them into vignettes that I'm looking to include in the next re-write of my novel.

Bernadette was very nice and always provided professional, constructive feedback.

I enjoyed the assignments. I also thought it was very helpful to have the annotations under the videos with the times and what is discussed at each point in the video. This helped me to follow along.

My writing has definitely improved and I learnt so many new writing tricks and skills.

Very friendly and knowledgeable tutors. Easy to access site. Great resources provided with handouts and extra exercises. Great content and writing tricks and skills.

I work full time and have a primary school aged child, so I was a little hesitant that I'd be able to fit the course in, but finding the time to complete the course wasn't an issue. I enjoyed it so much I MADE time :) The 5-week structure and weekly assignments worked well.

My tutor was knowledgeable. She answered all my questions thoroughly and provided plenty of helpful advice and insights.

I enjoyed writing in first person perspective. I loved being creative when writing the weekly assignments.

You should definitely do a course at AWC. They're online, so can fit within your schedule, and you get valuable weekly feedback from your tutor, who's an industry professional!

A big thanks to Cathie for all her advice.

Thank you to Australian Writers' Centre for the courses that you have available. There is always helpful information and action steps. I know with clarity now that my interests in writing are: Research/history of topics of interest, Poetry, Children's Picture Books/readers. I would like to pursue freelance writing in the near future, and I would like to explore short story competitions.

It helps you fine tune what areas of writing are of interest. You get to create an action list for the areas you want to progress in. Take one step a day towards your goal.

Cathie was great! So encouraging and supportive. Her feedback was honest and really, really helpful. I learnt a lot from her.

I enjoyed the process of writing that we developed over the 5 weeks. Feeling like I now have some solid skills to get practising.

I've always been writing but never sure what to do with it. Now I have some clear direction.

Go for it, you will learn a lot!

Cathie obviously has a lot of experience behind her and her feedback certainly helped shape what I am trying to write.

It's a great starting point and, never having done a course for writing, this was great.

I had no idea how complex becoming a writer can be. Definitely challenging me to push myself to continue my dream.

As an introduction to writing, this course will definitely open your eyes.

Great course. Excellent and relevant material. A really good introduction. Great assignments and excellent feedback.

The teacher was thoughtful and knew what she was talking about. She put effort into giving useful feedback and it was great listening to what she said about my own and other's assignments.

Loved the audios. Loved the assignments and loved the feedback.

Helped me think about scenes, character development, point of view. All of it has been useful. It has really made me stop, slow down and think about what I am trying to write. There's so much I have learned.

Great theory. Great assignments and great feedback from tutor.

Cathie was fantastic with her explanations on editing or proceeding with different parts of the story.

I enjoyed the challenge of making my idea real.

I would say give it a go. You never know what small piece of information is missing from your story. That might just be the word you needed.

I enjoyed the presenter's manner and enthusiasm in addition to the thorough scope of the content.

I liked how the tutor gave us a video and told us how we can improve our stories just by changing little things or details about our stories we were writing.

I would say that if you really love to write and want to learn more about writing or anything, join these courses because they really help you succeed and learn to get the best of your ability.

I went through this twice to make sure I had a grasp on 'show, don't tell.' I really enjoyed the approach and find Pamela a wonderful educator and presenter.

I've changed how I approach my first draft and how to include more of the emotion when developing characters.

If you wish to improve your writing, AWC is where the courses cater for all aspects of writing.

I have completed numerous AWC courses, and always find them informative and rewarding. Cut, Shape, Polish has been particularly motivating. It has given me a clear guideline of how to proceed on editing and re-drafting my m/s.

I now have the confidence to edit my m/s, and know what to look for to tighten it and make it a better - hopefully publishable - novel.

I have recommended your courses to anyone who'll listen. I think they are invaluable for anyone who is interested in writing, and although there is "work" involved, the courses are always enjoyable and rewarding.