What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I want to write a travel memoir. I had no idea where to start and felt overwhelmed at the idea! I found this course through a google search and loved that it was online, in my own time, and affordable.

I loved having access to the whole course right from the start and being able to go at my own pace. It was easy to follow and quite informative.

I've never studied writing before so it was great to learn the fundamentals from step one all the way to editing and publishing.

It is a clear, thorough, easy-to-follow course that's fun and is very affordable.

Knowledgeable facilitator. Great content. Loved the videos and also the resources - templates and extra info was great!

A great course that's easy to follow and full of useful info and tips.

I needed to learn from an expert how to plot and plan a novel or any story for that matter!

I love Kate Forsyth's passion. She's very infectious.

I love to 'plan' things ... dinner parties, holidays etc. ... I write everything down. I started doing the same for my first novel. It felt like I was just 'playing'. Kate confirmed I wasn't! And helped me put it in the right order. Although I still have a very long way to go, I feel I'm on the right track. Thank you!

As someone starting out in fiction writing, I was attracted to the scaffolded approach of AWC's course pathway. Creative Writing Stage 1 seemed to be the perfect launch point.

The course achieved a great balance between providing need-to-know-now learnings and information that will be useful closer to getting published.

Petronella's feedback was always insightful and helpful, and she supported her tips with examples of her lived experience as an author.

I have a much better sense of how to achieve my goal of writing a novel and (hopefully) getting it published. I'm confident the course has helped me to circumvent some of the mistakes I would have otherwise made just because I didn't know any better.

Why flail about trying to reinvent the wheel when you can get closer to your writing goals with the guidance of AWC's experts?

The course exceeded my expectations. I now have three wonderful main characters that I am looking forward to exploring when writing my novel.

At the start of Module 4, I looked back on all the work I had done to create the three main characters. The jigsaw started to fit together into a whole picture.

If you want to write, this is the place to start. You get the framework and the confidence builder.

I loved the course. I enjoyed hearing stories of true crime as well as fictionalised examples. Candice and Valerie were great presenters.

I am starting my writing career after other careers:) It confirmed some information but also made me think of other aspects of writing especially to engage my readers.

There were many a-ha moments and particularly the aspects of premeditation and intent. I thought what most resonated was the discussion about character dialogue as well as interrogation methods. I am writing a character who is a forensic specialist, and the forensics information helped a lot too.

Great courses, easy to enrol and reasonably priced.

I liked that the course is self-paced and the content is succinct. This meant I could complete it quickly and note taking was easy. Lesley gave terrific summaries and specific guidance.

I was surprised by how short the 'word count sweet spot' is in terms of publishing for this age group. When I started writing, I thought I was writing a middle grade book, so it was substantially longer than I now realise is desirable for junior fiction. I'm trying hard to reduce my word count, along with the complexity at story and sentence level.

Now having completed ten courses (ten!) with AWC, I can say wholeheartedly that they've been the best writing investment I could have possibly made. All courses are led by people with genuine industry experience and success who know what they're talking about. The content has been interesting and super helpful, and the connections I've made (particularly in a Writers Group established post the EYN course in 2022) have continued to sustain and elevate my writing habits.

Thank you, Lesley, for the relevant and insightful content you presented.

Grant was warm and engaging and certainly knew what he was talking about. The structure was good, and I learnt a lot.

I'm really enthused about my job now. Everyone in companies just writes things, with some boundaries given by templates or guides. Apart from spelling, punctuation and grammar, we don't really think of it as something that is reasoned out or needs to be taught. I learnt there are techniques for planning content around a structure.

Very engaging, and definitely worthwhile. Grant was an awesome facilitator.

Petronella's feedback was really encouraging and helpful and the structure of the course was super easy to follow. Thank you for putting together this content - it's been incredibly helpful!

I really loved how honest, warm and helpful Petronella was. The video feedback on everyone's assignment really helped me to learn and to reinforce learnings. The audio lessons were so easy to follow and a convenient way to learn.

The course has validated me that I can actually write this book. That I need to take the pressure off myself given it takes most first time writers two years to write their first book!

The course is affordable, convenient and really relevant content for anyone looking to write fiction.

I think Carli is brilliant and insightful, and does her best to keep participants engaged.

There were some concepts I'm already familiar with, mainly user groups and user journeys. On the other hand I did also learn additional concepts to be mindful of when practicing UX/UI design and writing, particularly tone of voice and text digestion.

Laying out the rule of thumbs in navigational text is something I didn't really consider while doing my work. This will undoubtedly change how I design my navigation elements.

If you want to get started in writing, this organisation is worth checking out.

Mark was very pleasant and positive. He provided feedback on assignments very promptly.

I enjoyed how easy it was to complete in my own time, the quality of the content that was delivered, and the professional experience of the course presenter and tutor.

I am planning on changing careers, to start my own copy and content writing business. The course gave me the information and confidence to keep moving forward with this plan.

Loved the detail of the course, particularly for a starting point. The bonus module on how to find paid copywriting work is a fantastic value add-on too!

Mark was fantastic - he provided detailed feedback videos on everyone's assignments weekly, and was very responsive in the classroom chat if you had a question for him.

I loved the breakdown on how to write great copy, from headlines to creative brief to SEO, and then combining it all by writing long copy in the last module. Video lessons were easy to follow, and handouts were very informative.

I loved every minute of it!

It opened my eyes to following tried and tested formulas and templates to write more efficiently and succinctly. I learnt more relevant info in the SEO copywriting module than I ever did in my three-year marketing and PR course at uni!

Definitely jump in and do it! The modules are easily digestible and the weekly assignments consolidate learning just enough so that you can get them submitted by the deadline around your usual work schedule and other commitments.

Looking forward to taking up the SEO copywriting course later on down the track, once I've dipped my toe in some freelance copywriting work.

A friend, who is an author, recommended I do a course as I had been mumbling about trying to write a novel for... years.

I have really enjoyed the course! I am impressed with the tight format and the clever assignments. It is a lot of information in a relatively short time, so I look forward to going over it all again and listening to some of the sessions again.

Nat was wonderful. I really appreciated her style. It was horrifying to me initially that she would read our work out... eekkk... but listening to her I quickly overcame my shyness and really found it a great way to share what was being written. I found her feedback really helpful. The way she showed us how to edit our work was really well done.

I loved that you got us writing straight out of the blocks. It was confronting but set us up well to continue. I think this course is extremely worthwhile.

I started totally unsure if I had the skills to write. I am much clearer now on the areas I need to work on... and it feels possible...

If you have had a little voice in your head quietly wondering if your passion for books could transform into a passion for writing... do this course. It teaches you really important skills to help you determine what you want to do and how to do it. I suspect it could be the difference between a hobby and a career.

I have been writing and submitting for a long time but unsuccessfully. I wanted to learn and have guidance from experienced editors, to allow me to be a successful picture book author. I am confident that I will achieve that now, following Cathie's suggestions and advice.

The presentation by Lesley was great. I enjoyed all her examples, the technical knowledge she shared, the general tips about how to find a publisher and pitch, and the passion with which she presented the material.

I was already passionate about writing for children, but this course gave me more confidence to give it a go. I actually find writing for the early reader harder than writing for older children, so this course was terrific in giving me lots of insight into writing for 6-9 year olds.

I have undertaken a number of courses at the Australian Writers' Centre now. Having done a raft of other writing courses previously in Australia and overseas, the AWC courses really stand out for their specific, technical and practical advice. They are courses that really give you concrete skills. I've completed every course feeling like I have the knowledge and tools to write and to see a writing project through, rather than just engaging with the creative idea of writing (which can be fun but gets you nowhere!).

A huge thank you to Lesley for a wonderful course!

Cathie was great and provided wonderful feedback and was honest and to the point. No holding back, which is what you need - honest feedback.

I enjoyed the assignments and getting feedback directly on them. It was also great to be able to ask questions both of Cathie, but also of the other students in the class.

Before, I was simply writing a story that came to my head. This was great for ideation, but I know now that these stories would never have had a chance of being published. They didn't have the right structure and lacked the required emotional beat. I have learned so much in this course that I can now apply to my stories to give them a fighting chance of being considered.

I'd say it is well worth the investment in time and money. There is so much gold in there that you'll come away overwhelmed with information... but in a good way!

Fantastic course. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the craft of writing picture books.

Cathie was great. All feedback was relevant to improving your writing skills and story.

I enjoyed listening to the weekly audio lesson and exercises to practice the information. Encouraged me to write more and put what I've learnt into practice.

Highly recommend to help improve your writing and make the journey more enjoyable.

AWC courses are so helpful and well-structured that I thought this course was what I needed in order to better plan and start putting my ideas down on a page. I was right!!!

The videos were great, and the slide presentation was succinct and to the point. It has renewed my confidence to start writing something that has been in my head for the past 3 years.

The whole course was excellent, but if I had to choose one moment it was towards the end when Kate presented a step-by-step on how to plan and plot. I understand that it may be a different process for me, and I will have to adjust to my needs, but it is the structure that helps me.

If you have an idea and want to start writing, AWC courses will certainly give the tools you need.

I wanted to explore my creative writing ability and was heartened that this course caters to anyone wishing to do this. You don't have to have an idea for a novel - you can just explore your creativity.

I was delighted to discover that the people on my course were so friendly. They were all interested in so many genres of writing - a real revelation to me. I have never read any sci-fi before but it's wonderful to see how creative some of my fellow course-mates are. It was great that everyone was so supportive and constructive in their feedback. I really enjoyed the 'chat' group.

Jennifer was very encouraging and constructive in her generous feedback. She is brilliant at interpreting everyone's writing (I was a bit lost in some of the sci-fi stuff)! I really enjoyed listening to her videos critiquing everyone's work and learnt so much from her advice.

I loved that I could listen to the audio lessons while I was out for a walk. I could absorb them and then go home and do the bonus exercises.

I really enjoyed the chat group on my course - everyone was so kind and encouraging. I'm very sad the course has finished but I do hope some of us will keep in touch so we can see how we all progress. It's been an incredible journey!

I never thought I would be contemplating writing novels. I just didn't think I had enough ability or talent. I now have characters spending time in my thoughts while I'm in the shower or out cycling and I've started imagining what situations I will put them in next. I also notice far more of my surroundings and imagine how I'd describe them in a scene! Novels will never be the same again - I find I am analysing them now. I even ditched one last week and realised it just didn't have enough pace!

Go for it. There are courses for every type of writing - all well-structured and designed by professionals. You will be amazed at how much you'll learn and also how much you'll enjoy it. As a bonus, you get to 'meet' lots of interesting people along the way. It could change your life!

I have never been so absorbed by a course before - my family feel abandoned! I feel like I have finally found 'my people' by embarking on this creative writing journey. I have loved it and am really sad the course has finished. I will definitely be enlisting in future courses in 2024!

I embarked on short story writing without any real knowledge at all about structure, plot, point of view etc. I submitted my pieces to various competitions but had no luck. I realised I was missing something and wanted a course where I could get feedback as well as learn the essentials.

I think absolutely everything in the course was indeed 'essential' and complemented some of the other AWC courses I have done too (like character essentials).

I really liked all the examples that were used from real short stories. This helped to highlight and understand many of the points being made.

I have been able to shine a light on a short story I had already been working on (and submitting) for some time but was struggling with. The course has helped me to understand structure and theme better so that I can hang my stories more constructively. At least I hope so, and that it now shows in my submitted piece for feedback!

AWC courses are really well paced and detailed, no stone is left unturned and the information is shared in an easy-to-follow way. If you are thinking about signing up for a course, stop thinking and just do it! You won't regret it and will definitely learn something, but likely many, many things!