What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I've always enjoyed reading and writing but had not written creatively since school, a long time ago! So I was keen to go back to basics and learn the fundamentals of crafting a story.

With no background in writing, I was rather daunted about joining a tutor-led course and sharing my work with others. I am so glad I was brave enough to do so!

The course is packed with information. I devoured the module audio lessons, each set out in a structured way with handouts and a manageable assignment to complete. I enjoyed the challenge of having an assignment to hand in each week, and the tutor feedback and peer comments were a big part of motivating me to keep going.

Pamela was a wonderful tutor giving everyone valuable feedback, always positive and encouraging, giving us suggestions and examples to improve our work. I loved the audio feedback as it seemed really personal delivered in that way.

I loved everything about it! It has given me the beginning skills and confidence to continue a daily writing practice, to think about all those story ideas that have been buzzing and inspired me to just keep going! If only for the true pleasure of putting words on the page. And that's OK.

What surprised me, I think I surprised myself, was the part of the course I expected to be most daunting, sharing my work and giving feedback, was so helpful and so much fun! It really helped me look critically at my writing and others' pieces and see how it might be improved. Finding other participants who enjoyed the course also, and making plans to keep in touch has been a fantastic bonus.

Absolutely go for it! Don't hesitate or feel daunted about sharing your work; we are all learning and it is an encouraging and supportive environment with lovely tutors that give positive and constructive feedback!

Thank you so much Pamela and the whole team at AWC for offering these courses, accessible to everyone, wherever we may live!!

I really want to keep writing!!

I’ve just retired from a career in schools where I was often telling stories. I also tell stories to my grandchildren and I enjoy writing. I just needed to know what was required and how to go about it.

I had no idea of all the components and the assignments really helped me generate more skills. The feedback was good and very useful for future writing.

It has given me the structure and all of the resources and areas to look at and how to go about getting something published.

I loved this course and it has given me my new purpose and direction.

I have wanted to do something like this for a very long time. I just didn't know how to fit it in with my already busy life. This course and structure were just perfect for me.

I was concerned about the cost as to would it be worth it. I have no regrets. I have learnt so much from the course, the tutor and my fellow classmates.

For someone who was always hesitant to share my stories with the world for fear they would not be good enough, I am now happy to begin my journey of submitting to publishers for the world to read them.

The feedback is really useful. At first I was worried that everyone would see my work and hear my feedback but it is so useful and you learn so much from it.

I really like the flexibility and audio classroom as I can listen wherever I like and as many times as I need to. I also like that the course talks to you as if you are a writer already, making you feel the dream is possible.

If writing is something you are interested in pursuing, this is definitely the place to begin that journey.

I thought Angela was really honest, which is what I wanted. I wanted to be told when my writing wasn't strong versus when it was and because of her honesty I really trusted her. I very much enjoyed her tutoring and she even went above and beyond and had a Zoom meeting with everyone.

I feel confident that I have a first draft of a book which, once polished, I can proudly send to an agent. I feel confident as a writer of fiction. I will never stop writing novels now.

Thank you so much for this gift. I am so grateful that I did this course; it has enriched my life and my skills.

Friends and family often ask me to proofread and edit material they have written. The course served as a refresher to what I already knew.

The course was interactive and it wasn't a matter of just sitting and listening to someone speak about the content. Michelle knows her subject very well and was able to impart that knowledge so that it was easily understood.

Allison's feedback was very clear and also provided examples when needed. She was encouraging as well as helpful, acknowledging when we were on the right track, but making it clear when some element wasn't working.

I enjoyed reading the other classmate's assignments and feedback. We all had different voices and ideas. I feel they taught me a great deal.

I feel so much more confident with the basic elements, and now feel I know where to begin. 'One day' now feels like 'today' when I think about my manuscripts.

Thank you so much, I am off to do some of the other courses now! Addicted!

I didn't really know what to expect but was really impressed with the materials provided and the audio modules.

The tutor was excellent, with great feedback for everyone. She really did think about each person's piece and was able to give constructive feedback without it sounding patronising.

I loved how easy the portal was to access the resources and audio modules and also to submit assignments and chat to other students and the tutor. I also really like the little comments that come up each time you log in - just puts you in the right frame of mind to be creative.

It's fantastic! Even if you aren't intending to write the next bestseller, it opens your mind and gets the creative juices flowing!

I was starting a new writing project when I found this online. I have written several novels previously as a hobby but never felt I nailed the basics. I wanted to get back to the basics and have a structured assignment-based course to keep me motivated to explore the themes.

Hearing someone read your work and give feedback was a pleasant surprise and really motivated me to keep working on my writing. I think the examples used in the lessons were varied and mostly well-known so I found it helped me understand the different topics.

Loved Pamela - thought she was brilliant. She was warm, engaging and had a sense of humour too. I loved when I wrote something humorous and heard her chuckling about it during her review.

As noted in one of the lessons, amateur writers sometimes neglect basic setting descriptions in their work. I'm definitely one of them. It's motivated me to start working on this type of writing and has even inspired a new novel idea that revolves around an old and mysterious colonial house I know from my childhood.

It's fun and informal but also very well organised and accessible. You can go at your own pace and engage as much as you want to (or don't want to) with other students. Pamela is great.

It has been beyond amazing with expert advice from Angela as well as support from fellow classmates. The workshopping was a highlight.

I have noticed a huge difference in how I structure my writing and its flow.

Fantastic course. So pleased to have been part of the course. The AWC are experts who want you to succeed.

Dean is so generous with course content and industry tips. His experience is evident and he has no problem sharing it. I have found the printout sheet an extremely helpful tool to take on site to gather information.

I appreciate Dean’s relaxed approach and humour. He convinced me I could do this type of writing.

The body copy that my agent received when my beautiful house was recently placed on the property market was way under par and, to say the least, disappointing. My agent was at a loss as to what to do. I asked if I could have a go, even though I had not completed Dean’s course. Long story short, the house sold, the agent’s office wanted to know who wrote the script and bam ... eight copy writing jobs later, I am writing a review for this course.

Dean’s information gathering printout tool is a winner. It makes perfect sense to walk through a house and gather information the way he has set it out.

AWC have perfectly handpicked the tutors for each course. Their calibre, experience, and ability to teach is evident from the moment you log in to your course for the first time. Online learning is an ideal learning platform, especially in these uncertain times we live in at the moment.

I really wanted to get more out of my creative writing, and I love creative writing so much, it just felt like a dream come true.

My tutor was very positive and gave me good feedback on what was good and what I could improve on. I looked forward to getting feedback from her.

I enjoyed writing, coming up with characters, all of it! I have found new ways to develop my characters, write scenes and come up with plot ideas.

I loved it, and I would go and do it again many times over; it helped me develop my skills so much! It is worth everything.

I've always had an interest in children's stories and always dreamt of writing one, I've just never known the ins and outs of writing.

Allison has been excellent in how she has helped me really understand my strengths and weaknesses as a writer through her feedback. I felt it was a good mix of praise and constructive criticism, and anything Allison felt I needed work on she would go into detail about how I can fix it or simply make it better.

The course has shown me how to properly put together my ideas for stories, emphasised important details about writing that I felt I needed to understand and also given me confidence that writing, as challenging it can be, is something I'm capable of if I really put the effort in.

The course I completed helped me see things in my writing I wouldn't have even thought to look at, and I'm a better writer now than I was when I started.

I have just finished writing my novel on Scrivener and I wanted to check that I have included everything in my scenes that I needed to.

The Scenes course with AWC covered all aspects of writing scenes that help move the story along including character, pacing and setting. I now feel confident to edit my novel and ensure that all the scenes that make up the whole are earning their keep.

I've always wanted to write a novel but kept getting stuck on how to plot and structure it. This course seemed like it could help. I was nervous about sharing my writing, but I thought if I can't share it in a course how will I ever share it in a book.

I was surprised by how much I loved the course. I've learned so much more than I thought and I really liked the format. Thank you for putting this course together. I will definitely be going back over the modules.

Pamela has been great. Her direction and feedback have been invaluable. I have learned a lot about structure, description, and point of view.

I enjoyed all of it. The assignments were particularly good, I found, to make me think differently about how I approach my writing.

I think Valerie saying throughout the course that there is no one way to write has helped break through some resistance I held around simply writing. I feel more confident in my ability to structure and write a story now. I don't feel as afraid to give it a go.

It seemed like a good way to get an overview of the writing landscape in Australia and an inexpensive way to 'test the waters' with AWC before enrolling in a writing course.

The stories from successful AWC graduates - such a wide range of them - were interesting, relatable and packed with practical, actionable content. They're incredible ambassadors for AWC!

The whole experience of this online course from the time I hit the 'enrol' button through to completion was outstanding - packed with interesting and practical content, professionally presented and a lot of fun. If you're wondering if a career as a writer is for you, I encourage you to take this course. You'll find it has the information and inspiration you need to take the first steps in your writing career!

I've enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1 - watch this space to see what happens next!

I loved the way Pamela delivered her feedback. The videos made it easy to follow her thoughts as she worked through everyone's pieces line by line. Her feedback was always well considered and valuable. And it also provided the opportunity to learn from other people's work as well.

I have been so focused on my writing projects that I haven't been writing anything outside of my own little box and this course forced me to do that. Week 3 on scenes where we had to write a piece including sound, smell etc was an awakening for me as I am very focused on visuals, action and dialogue. The exercise made the process less daunting and I've been able to include new small details in my current work to make it richer than it was before.

The Australian Writers' Centre is the perfect place to start your writing journey. You'll be able to find a course that focuses on the aspects of writing that you need to develop and be guided by experienced authors along the way. And there's also a range of other resources to help broaden your knowledge and skills.

I am about to retire and we are buying a camper trailer to spend time in regional centres. I notice that there is little information for older women who are travelling in this way and yet it is a big potential audience. And there is a strange perception that these women are a bit dim and dull just because they wear tracky daks. Not sure about the 'market' though.

It was an excellent course. And applicable to generic skills too, I think. The tutor was very talented and skilled. I enjoyed the inspirational writing as well as practical tips and examples.

I recognise that my writing (if it eventuates) will focus on the small details that make life absurd. I think I can make people laugh - no not laugh, a perceptive grin maybe. So I will think about a blog or some such. Just for fun. Maybe something will come out of that once I get the genre right.

From the moment I enrolled and began receiving the course notifications I felt very confident in the professionalism and organisation of the course material. As I work full-time, I was particularly appreciative of how clear each module's requirements were.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Now it's time to ensure I cement the wonderful learnings into my role.

I found Bernadette incredibly engaging and knowledgeable. Every week I looked forward to listening to her feedback for every single course participant because she always infused so much passion and value into her assessment feedback.

It was so well structured whilst giving the perfect amount of flexibility, allowing me to complete each week's module comfortably given I was working full-time.

I'm now approaching every piece of content I write in a very aware and strategic way.

The AWC is a brilliant, concise and well-organised online course provider - I thoroughly enjoyed the SEO copywriting course from start to finish. Thank you for a wonderful course.

Bernadette was very knowledgeable and passionate about copywriting.

I knew a little about SEO, but in just a short amount of time I 10x my SEO knowledge. The best part was, I was applying what I was learning to my clients' projects in real time.

It seemed like an achievable and practical way to start a potential writing hobby/career.

I loved the weekly feedback from Nicole which struck a great balance between encouragement and constructive criticism. I also loved listening to the lessons. Valerie has a voice that is easy to listen to and she conveys information clearly and well.

Nicole has a lovely friendly manner and she seemed to enjoy the variety of responses she got from each task. She was very positive in her feedback. I like that she encouraged us to tweak things but also stick to our guns if we knew where our stories were headed.

I loved listening to Nicole's feedback to everyone but I also loved the workshopping after the final task. Getting feedback is great but it's also really valuable to give it. It very much helps you to focus on the craft of writing.

The course has given me the confidence that I lacked to start writing my novel. I've had the idea for a few years but having set tasks and getting practical feedback is invaluable in terms of motivation.

The AWC courses are fun, informative and practical. They also have a commercial focus, which is great for those wanting to make a career out of writing. There's a lot of great content in each lesson.