What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I thought Pamela Cook was great - her feedback was spot on, thoughtful, insightful, encouraging and constructive at all times

Working on a submittable piece every week was great - kept the creative mind ticking over and receiving feedback was invaluable.

I feel it has made me more committed to writing every day and committed to planning, plotting and writing a novel. Some of the positive feedback from Pamela gave me inner confidence and confirmed my own commitment to the creative process.

AWC has great short courses that are easily accessible and affordable. Great format to the course, the material/information is of a high quality and delivered by experienced authors. It gives you the scope to explore your own creativity in a creative space with other budding writers. Thank you AWC!

I just feel sad that it's over - but now I can choose another short course and keep up the momentum.

I was interested in learning the theory behind copywriting since I'm technically working as one, yet without the formal tools. There are plenty of copy online courses, but I chose this particular course for various reasons: AWC's prestige, Bernadette's and Valerie's credentials and the Centre's reviews.

Bernadette is pragmatic, straight-forward and you can tell she KNOWS what she is talking about. I really liked her teaching style and the attention she gave each one of the students in terms of feedback.

The most enjoyable were the assignments and feedbacks. The most useful were the formulas and practical tools provided.

I used to write copy "instinctively", which was good. But now I include theory and strategy to that, which I believe makes my copy more powerful.

It's short, it's easy going, you actually LEARN tools, is not just abstract ideas or opinions, and you can get an experienced teacher to guide and rate your work. Go for it.

Without exception, the submissions of every person in the class have improved immensely since we began. Our stories are so much clearer now (I suspect for the writer as much as for the reader).

I am in awe of Pamela's ability to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of any piece of writing with scalpel-sharp precision. Even better is her skill at finding solutions for the problems too.

I enjoyed the Zoom sessions together. Seeing the people behind the stories. I now have three writing friends that I'm still in regular touch with and we're looking forward to meeting for the first time at the ARW conference in August.

Very helpful and encouraging. I found it really eye opening.

I enjoyed seeing everyone's different writing style and seeing and learning about all the work that goes into creative writing works.

You should try out this creative writing course. It's very helpful and eye opening. It's fun and you get to learn and talk to an array of different people and encouraging tutors.

I had so much fun and cannot wait to start another course with the Australian Writers' Centre.

What attracted me to this course was my liking for creative writing and trying it out until I got stuck in my writing. I saw this course and thought that it could help me get unstuck in my writing.

The feedback that I got from my tutor was very good and helped me to move my writing skills to the next level.

I found the assignments the most enjoyable part of this course.

It has helped me to get back into my writing and fix up things in my writing that I hadn't even known were wrong. It has made my writing better and more entertaining.

It was nice to know that I really did know a bit more than I thought but also that I was getting help and learning more about the bits I didn't know.

Try it. You will be surprised how much help it will be to you.

I've been wanting to improve my writing and check essentially whether or not I was on the right track to finish my novel and embark on writing my series. A member of Writer's Victoria recommended the course to me and I signed up.

My tutor was really kind and keen on exploring different options with my story and looked at multiple ways in which I could express different ideas. She was also open to any depth I wished to add and I got the impression she was patient and excited to explore a multitude of ideas to help my writing.

I enjoyed the depth everything went into and how methodical it was. It allowed me to create checklists and general notes to essentially check the content and structure of my writing and ensure I stayed on the right track.

It basically told me that I'm on the right track and should just keep writing and be open to change. I found I was doing quite a lot of these things intrinsically, and if not all the time in my own writing, I could very clearly pick it out in others'. It gave me tools I needed to assess others' writing as well as finding meanings and making inferences and it gave me a lot of insight into possible motives and other analyses.

Angela was great - was encouraging as I am a new writer, and gave good, timely feedback.

I enjoyed the community that was built online, the mixture of resources, and the encouragement provided to give it a go.

I feel inspired to write more, and also to learn more about how it's done. Authors don't just pick up a pen and write a great story - everyone can do it but you have to work at it.

Great environment, and love how you fostered an online community.

Amazing - Kate is so knowledgeable and generous with sharing her expertise. I enjoyed the group dynamic, Kate's slides and handouts. The sessions were really interesting and engaging.

I have a better understanding about how to actually do a structural edit.

I learned the differences between a novel and a short story but found much of the course applies to novel writing as well. I was very happy with the many examples provided to explain the different points in the modules.

I've completed quite a few courses with the Australian Writers' Centre and have been more than happy with them.

Structure has always been the thing I've struggled with most in how to put a story together, so this course seemed heaven sent!

I feel much more comfortable with structure now, though a little scared about the multi-book story idea I have banging around my head. But I feel I now have the tools to successfully structure a story.

I enjoyed learning about the different types of structure and the multi-book structure as well as the art of working in sub-plots and their purpose.

I now feel like I can structure a novel, something I've been trying to do for ages!

Don't hesitate, sign up today and get writing. You won't regret it.

Such clear instructions delivered with a pleasant manner. I will be able to organise my work in a much more accessible way.

If Scrivener interests you and you think it would help you organise your writing, resources and photos, this course will confirm that with practice, it will help you become more organised and able to keep track of all the threads of your stories.

While never specifically intending to write historical fiction, I fell into it firstly by writing plays about Australian aviation history which have been performed over the last eight years. An interest in European History 1930 to 1945 led me to writing short stories set in this era. I wanted more information on research methods as I might consider tackling a more substantial piece in the future.

The resources were exceptionally clear, and the lessons included helpful illustrative examples. The written material provided an excellent framework for developing characters and plots within a specific historical setting. Moreover, these frameworks could easily be applied to general fiction. The sections on pitfalls and research proved particularly useful.

I wasn't aware of the number of research resources available. It made me think I should get to know my State Library!

I've enjoyed the monthly challenge of Furious Fiction offered by AWC - always a spur to creativity, and especially valued during seemingly endless lockdowns. AWC offers a wide range of clear and informative courses suitable for writers at different stages of their journey. These focus on the CRAFT rather than the politics of writing.

The tutor was supportive and helpful. I enjoyed the supportive nature and the detailed modules. Allowed me to think about more clearly as to what direction I want my writing to head towards.

Amazing course. Highly recommended.

Having completed a number of courses with AWC (serial workshopper here!) and then bringing my story idea to life through the Novel Writing Essentials course, Write your Novel was the next step in the process.

Reviewing the work of others and having your work reviewed by them is invaluable. Reading the tutor’s comments and feedback to others (in addition to your own specific feedback) adds to the learning.

Cathie is incredible. So knowledgeable, practical and her feedback is so well presented (and spot on!) Areas for development were provided in an honest and supportive manner and I loved the recommendations for wider reading.

I enjoyed the combination of learning from the audio content, workshopping and submission of chapters for feedback. Great online, group support.

I finished the draft of the novel I had been thinking about for so long. I navigated through plot and character changes to come to a point where I can now start my subsequent drafts focused on refining and improving through each of the drafts to follow.

Just keep writing. You can't write the start till you know the end so stop re-writing those first few chapters and keep going.

Do it. Give yourself a structure for pushing through and achieve what you've been wanting to do for so long.

The speaker was very engaging and generous with his thoughts and experience. I enjoyed learning invaluable tips from an expert profile writer.

Cathie provided excellent detailed feedback and guidance in how to draw more from a piece of writing.

I enjoyed watching my classmates' skills grow and really value their comments and feedback on my manuscript. I feel I have grown as a writer. I can now add more depth to my stories. I have also gained the confidence to share my writing with others.

Go for it. The courses are informative, provide useful and interesting lessons. The tutors are knowledgeable, give fair and valuable feedback and are supportive of your journey as a writer.

After completing Creative Writing Stage 1 and Writing Workout, I wanted to delve deeper into each of the elements of writing discussed.

I loved learning more about the intricacies of writing great dialogue and was pleasantly surprised by how detailed the course material is.

I loved doing the exercises as I created a few more scenes for my book!

I’m loving building on my writing skills and doing the Fiction Essentials courses (I’m assuming the others I’ve purchased are going to be as fabulous as the one on dialogue!) is a wonderful way of building that knowledge and confidence.

I’ve been telling all my friends about the courses I’m doing and how much I’m getting out of them. I tell anyone who’s even slightly interested in writing to check out your website!

Though I have written and published a picture book, I wanted to test my ideas out on others to see if I am on the right track. I have completed multiple courses with AWC and always find the content/takeaway notes extensive.

I found the feedback on everyone's story very valuable in how to self-assess my stories. I liked Suzanne's gentle way of pulling a story apart and by doing so giving us insight into what is needed and what to leave out of the text for a picture book.

I enjoyed the challenge and now know I can write a picture book each week if I put my mind to it.

Whatever stage of your writing journey the Australian Writers' Centre has a course for you.

I did the Novel Writing Essentials course with Cathie and Plotting and Planning with Kate Forsyth and my idea for a historical novel took shape. Once I had written 20,000 words, I enrolled in this course to complete my novel.

The comments and the reading material suggested by the tutor and collective wisdom of the reading group were extremely useful in shaping my novel.

I am grateful to Cathie as her gentle yet tough love edged me on to do my best and complete the first draft of my novel.

The comments by other participants, the tutor's comments on other drafts (in addition to my draft) and the list of reference books on writing fiction were good. The online audio sessions and course material were good as well.

I liked the pace of the twelve-month course as it gave me time to absorb and apply the principles I learnt through the lessons. This allowed me to do my homework and be prepared with my submissions.

The AWC offers a huge range of courses on writing. I love their courses on writing fiction. If you follow the lessons and listen to all the advice you get from the experts, you will achieve your goal to complete your first draft of your novel.

Thanks to everyone at AWC - the course creators, the course deliverers, the experts, the tutor and the participants. Loved every day of the course.