What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Kate covered all aspects of the course with fascinating insights, and I loved the accompanying artwork.

I now construct my sentences with intention. (I rewrote the previous one three, no four, times!) Furthermore, prior to this course, I hadn't considered sentences as music, but now I understand words have rhythms that, when used purposefully, produce a powerful atmosphere or create a deep emotion.

It's possible to break the rules, take risks, and still create a magnificent book such as The Book Thief.

The AWC is the perfect place to go if you want to become a better writer.

I enjoyed working through different genres with Kate's interpretations. I loved the addition of the artwork in each module and the literary techniques explanation and information in the last module.

I took this course whilst in between Novel Writing Essentials and Write Your Novel - it kept me writing and thinking about writing during the break in courses.

I love Kate Forsyth and her books but beyond her books she is an incredible teacher who has the ability to take complex concepts and break them down into understandable achievable tasks and lessons.

This felt like a college-level class and I know my writing will be better because of it!

I have a better understanding of the power of words and text and the way it comes together to form a story. I enjoyed the breakdown of genres and the style of writing found in each. I also enjoyed narrowing in on the styles I'm drawn to and how it can influence the stories I write.

All the AWC classes I've taken have such amazing content. Well worth the cost. And my writing has transformed because of it!

I loved listening to Kate - she is insightful and positive. Each time I listened to a session, I came out feeling positive and hopeful.

I'm struggling with self-doubt at the moment and work as a freelance finance writer. Listening to Kate has reminded me of what I love about writing and reawakened me to the possibilities I used to dream about.

As a historical fiction author who likes to blend a little bit of the otherworldly into stories - spooky mermaids, witches, ghosts, time travel - History, Mystery and Magic was the perfect course.

I enjoyed the style of learning as well as the resources. And the fact that Kate Forsyth is teaching the course is of course a huge added bonus: she's such a deep well of knowledge. Listening to her teach is like being told a lullaby - the way she weaves her knowledge of history, myths, narrative craft, storytelling, and creativity, is so soothing. It feels like sitting around a campfire listening to a folk tale.

I found the structure of the course and the sample texts to be most useful. Kate Forsyth did a superb job at explaining a certain concept and then showing how to use it, through carefully chosen examples from the sample texts. It illuminated the core learning concepts in a way that allowed me to think about and apply them to my own writing.

When I shared on my social media account that I had enrolled in the course, two other writers reached out to tell me that they were also currently enrolled in the course.

We set up a little group chat as a way to connect, share our experiences and support each other. The course not only helped me refine my ideas and make progress on my writing projects, but it also allowed me to meet other writers in the community.

AWC provides consistently high-quality writing courses from experts in the craft.

I enjoyed learning new ideas and the course showed me that all ideas have meaning and truth.

I really appreciated the breadth of examples and analysis that I could apply to my own writing and editing.

It's given me confidence to pursue my own ideas in magic realism. I'm also a musician and saw many links between Kate's analysis of the effect of syllables and consonant choice on rhythm and emotion - this was exciting for me to see WHY I love both music and fiction - I hadn't appreciated this connection before.

It will add an extra layer to my editing - I will take much more care over the emotional effect of the rhythm and sound of words. Of course (!) - I'm a musician and I didn't see this!

I enjoyed learning aspects, techniques and theories I would have never thought of before.

The course has given me more arrows in my quiver as a writer. A broader knowledge base.

I thought Kate was excellent - I loved the structure and content of the course and feel as though I learnt a lot in a short space of time. The intertextuality elements of painting, poetry and fiction added depth to my understandings. I also loved that she was able to strip back the core elements of attraction and value for each genre, thereby undermining stereotypes and literary snobbery.

I thought I would be more interested in the first half of the course - where I plan to write - but found myself equally absorbed in the fantasy and mystic realism modules.

It has given me permission to write and a basis to write from.

This course provides an introduction and deep dive into elements of the five genres. It also has a number of key lessons and tips and tricks for fiction writing that are both practical, enabling and empowering. Highly recommend.

I loved the idea of learning about and from different genres. I have attended one of Kate's courses before and found her a very inspiring teacher, so that was also an attraction.

I loved Kate's deconstruction of two different novelists for each genre - introduced me to some new books I now want to read. I also enjoyed the lessons from each genre. Even if I don't intend to write in a specific genre (for example, fantasy), I've still learned some useful lessons that can be applied to other genres. I also enjoy Kate's easy teaching style and the beautiful artworks that she chooses to illustrate her slides. I always learn something beyond the course (eg beyond learning about genres, I've also been introduced to new artists and art).

I have picked up lots of useful lessons to use in my own writing.

Definitely enrol and do it! You will learn something and it will help your writing.

I finished this course in one week, I was so immersed in it, and I was very inspired to start work on my own writing. I also planned out more AWC courses to complete over the next 12 months.

I enjoyed discovering new books I hadn't read, and hearing Kate's opinions and love for books and writers I was really familiar with. I also enjoyed Kate's way of deep diving into each of my favourite genres, and linking them together with literary tools.

It has reminded me that I need to be actively learning instead of passively learning. Kate was able to make me feel like we were in a tutorial, which is much more personal and active than a lecture. I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and lectures that dump information into my brain and memory. Kate's delivery allowed me to feel in dialogue with her, and it kept my brain active in response, and applied her ideas directly to my writing.

It will allow you time and space to remember that vitality in life is about learning new ideas, and changing your mind so you can realise a new goal.

I wanted to know more about these genres, which I have not experimented with at all in my own writing. I made a point of watching the introductory webinar with Kate and was so impressed I enrolled straight away.

Kate clearly gains much of her writing inspiration from art works. She brings her own deep research to the art and artists, films and directors, as she does to developing her own books. I loved this pairing of the art works with each genre. It brought out an emotional response in me that gave her lessons more meaning, and also made me stop the recording, study the artwork and think about why Kate would choose that particular image. Then return to the course with new concentration.

I enjoyed the readings by both Valerie, then reinforced by Kate, so that we were given two different voices reading the excerpts. I really enjoyed Kate's sharing her deep, visceral responses to many of the passages, including the non-fiction passages by the authors. It's an approach I used (or rather, couldn't help but use) in teaching at school, to give permission to the students to likewise be moved by literature.

So much to think about and look for in every book I read now. I can even see how many of the language features can equally apply to effective non-fiction writing.

I'd previously thought of romance fiction as fairy floss, but now realise it is a genuine examination of the search for love and for one's intellectual equal in that love partnership (thus the witty banter), as well as showing the necessary transformative journey involved in finding that love.

AWC has a big variety of courses. By all means try the less expensive, more focused courses. But also pay the extra money for the high-quality courses that really interest you. Worth it for the very helpful structured approach with lots of gems as well as the basics.

I was attracted to this course by the content - my favourite genres of books, explored and taught by Kate Forsyth - a legend of Australian fictional writing, who brings so much joy, enthusiasm, love and passion for the craft of writing, creating books that readers will love, and inspiring would-be writers to put that pen to paper.

I enjoyed Kate's real life examples from diverse range of books and authors, and easy to understand explanations of what makes good writing, and how to take the reader on a journey that they will enjoy. I also loved the inclusion of artwork and introduction to artists and female stories that have been hidden from history or forgotten.

Do it! Take any course with Kate Forsyth and you will learn so much, feel inspired to write, and learn something new about history and art and the craft of writing.

I enjoyed Kate's passion, knowledge and generosity. She was honest and shared not only insights beyond mere tropes for each genre covered, she also furthered my knowledge of art/artists. Of course, there were the readings too. Valerie has such a beautiful and expressive reading voice which was the perfect quinella for Kate's choices. I have since added each of the books to my ebook wish list as well as more than a few of Kate's books. An extra expense that I couldn't, wouldn't ever complain about - it's an investment and no doubt delicious pleasures are bound to come my way.

On top of everything Kate presented, she then gives us challenges? How generous and wonderful - I'm looking forward to engaging with them.

Apart from the new reading materials I'm slowing purchasing to further my learning and understanding, I am finding myself noting many of the devices and structures in what I have been reading. I have been invigorated about the whole writing process and the resulting works, be they prose, poetry, songs or even scripts. It's been hard holding off my novel writing but I'm glad I did as I find myself having new ideas and better ways (I hope) to bring it to life. THANK YOU, KATE.

Go for it! You get more than your money's worth.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected from this course (I purchased it some months before completing it) but I know that I have gained so much more knowledge about the craft of writing.

The novel excerpts were wonderful and illustrated Kate's points perfectly. Kate's delivery style was very clear and easy to understand, and her passion for the craft is wonderful to see and experience. And the amount of content was excellent - not too much or too little.

I just want to dive in and start writing in earnest. I have more ideas popping into my head and I feel a lot more confident moving forward.

AWC has many fabulous, informative topics with wonderful tutors. The learning platform is easy to use and you can see where you are up to in a course.

I was keen to learn more about writing in different genres. I was also curious about how to weave different genres together in a meaningful way.

I've enjoyed all of the AWC courses that I've completed. This one ended up being a favourite though! It was very joyful. It felt like Kate was telling me a story about how to tell a story.

The course was full of wonderful tips, insights and inspiration.

I really enjoyed Kate's insights on poetic devices, especially rhythm.

Go ahead. You'll learn a lot and have fun too!

So much material was covered.

The final module on magic realism was the highlight. Loved the rhythm and rhyme, poetic language and other writing devices. Also the two authors for each section was a great way to see how other authors write and I particularly liked the two for the historical and final two authors chosen.

Made it clearer what path I want to take with my writing

Kate masterfully explains and shares her insights in an encouraging way. The content is complemented by beautiful artworks and contains so much depth and meaning, with challenges to skilfully put the learnings into practice.

Kate was great.

The course has encouraged me to get back in to writing!

AWC courses and instructors are informative, motivating and enjoyable.

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.

This was the best writing course I've ever done, and there have been dozens including a Masters in creative writing. Seriously! Kate packed in so much content in so relatable a manner that I am left dazzled and inspired.

I loved exploring genres and their tropes and tricks through examining excellent examples of brilliant writing. I was reassured by the fact that I'd already read all but one of her selected texts.

I have added dozens of notes/comments/follow up ideas and to-dos to my draft manuscript. As Kate said, it's in the rewriting that the magic is added. I've got so many inspirations to pursue - and many more hours at the keyboard ahead of me.

I gained real insight into the power of poetic devices, and a determination to return to my manuscript and deploy them assiduously in redrafting.

Don't hesitate to sign up for Kate's course!