What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I wasn't sure what to expect and whether it would be something that I would enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting I found each module and different type of article.

I enjoyed the ability to read through the module content myself, at my own pace, and save this for future reference. Then I appreciated the videos that went into further explanation and depth.

I am interested in continuing to pursue further courses in relation to writing and seeing where this may take me in the future.

There are plenty of options at the AWC depending on what interests you and the course delivery is very user friendly.

The content is sound and the steps are set at comfortable increments.

I found the feedback especially encouraging. It is super motivating to engage with a current industry professional. The feedback is prompt and helpful. Cathie's skills and passion for the craft are clearly conveyed. Her advice gives me the confidence that all I have to do is EXACTLY what she says!

I enjoyed the stretch to actually get a couple of stories working. The immediate feedback is an amazing experience.

I feel I have the tools to achieve my dreams. The course is a solid step. Now it's up to me to grow the skills, spend the time consolidating, do the set ups and continue to see what I can achieve.

The content is clear, cleanly presented and challenging in a great way. Anyone interested to learn picture book writing at any stage in their journey will grow from this material. Just be prepared with some story ideas and put your best time into the course while you've got access to feedback.

I just loved it. Thank you so much.

I fell in love with this course from module one and now I have completed the course and am more confident in my writing ability. Now, fully inspired, my dream as a future author is more possible and probable than before the course.

My online tutor was wonderful. When she reviewed my writing and gave me her feedback, it was really positive and was the first feedback from someone who is a professional in this field. When I showed the feedback to my mum, she had tears of pride for me.

I enjoyed learning new ways of how to start thinking like a writer.

Before I started the course, I had already been writing for a span of five years. But, through discovering and enrolling in this course, I found a lot more skills in writing.

Trust me. If you enrol in the Australian Writers' Centre, I one hundred per cent guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Pamela is always very kind and knowledgeable, she knows what's she talking about and sometimes it feels like she knows what I'm struggling with in my stories even if I don't know it. She shared great tips that have had immediate impact on my writing.

AWC tutors are experienced people in the industry and it's a safe space.

Pamela is always so kind. I love her seminars!

I enjoyed the delivery mode, self-paced nature and regular feedback. Bernadette's feedback was useful and very helpful. I really look forward to that aspect of the courses.

The information on Google's overarching approach and the updates was really beneficial. As a new copywriting business owner, I am now confident to promote SEO copywriting and to implement these practices in all that I do.

I enjoyed Pamela's open and inclusive approach - her non-judgemental answers to participant's questions.

This Focus On seminar, along with previous ones, I've found very motivating. I think there's been a substantial improvement in my writing.

I thought it was interesting to learn about how character arc and parallel plots work in a trilogy or series.

The courses are hugely beneficial to beginners, and wonderful refresher courses for those who already have knowledge.

Keep up the great work! We writers need you.

I enjoyed Pamela's presentation style and personality. She speaks with such experience but with clarity that makes it clear to novices.

It affirmed much of my thinking and made me feel that my writing choices & approach are moving in the right direction.

I have completed several live virtual and self-paced courses, and I am a big fan. My recommendation is - great core content and a variety of insightful advice and feedback from a diverse collective of practitioners. All delivered to build pragmatic approaches to writing and getting published. Every interaction with the AWC community leaves me thinking differently about writing and energised to write more.

Just keep doing it - it's great!

Pamela is easy to listen to and in a relaxed and comfortable way present the information. I love the way that, as she talks, she comes out with little tips that are gems to remember.

It's given me the confidence to add a POV in the final chapters of my current work.

The AWC provides great learning experiences for every writer no matter whether you are a beginner or an old hand. There are courses for everyone and the content is excellent.

I had a few ideas for writing but wasn't sure and wanted my hand held for a bit longer : )

I wasn't sure if I was procrastinating but the course content and exercises were valuable and stretched my writing skills in different directions. I was also a bit nervous about the face-to-face feedback sessions but all my classmates were so lovely and supportive and gave wonderful constructive input on everyone's submissions.

Bernadette is a wonderful tutor - organised, knowledgeable, a clear communicator and builds a supportive culture within the group.

I loved seeing everyone each fortnight and the exercises were great at expanding my writing and imagination in different directions to open up new creative avenues for me.

I thought I was more of a comedy writer and had a great hesitancy to make anything bad happen to characters but realised I have the capability to write serious content with an ominous undercurrent, which surprised me.

Forget the preconceptions you have about yourself, or the expectations you assume others have for you; let your imagination run wild with your writing. You might land in an unexpected genre but one that perfectly suits you.

I have already recommended AWC to two friends, one of which has signed up to your UX Writing course : ). Apart from the tailored course recommendations, I told them the Australian Writers' Centre courses were the most professional, clear and comprehensive I had found, you are taught in a really supportive environment and they're lots of fun.

Writing Workout is perfect for reinforcing your writing skills and expanding your capabilities. It's fantastic for building your confidence and cementing the technical aspects of narrative. Seeing everyone's friendly faces each fortnight and sharing our writing feedback was a great way to remove the fear of feedback. You will feel so good when you complete this course!

What attracted me to this course was the goal of reaching 20,000 words, as well as getting the chance to have others review my work in a safe space. Workshopping was always a point of fear for me, but the tutor and the students provided a great environment for everyone to be helped with honest and useful feedback.

Petronella was always very kind and on point with her feedback. She raised great questions that got me into a better frame of mind with my novel and my characters. The fact that there was a video of Petronella's feedback (in addition to the detailed written feedback, of course) made the course a bit more personal and enjoyable for me.

The tutors are very knowledgeable and kind, experienced in the industry.

I love these courses! I appreciated being treated fairly and taken seriously.

The presenter was totally engaging and knowledgeable and the workbook is great. It was the right length, good time, excellent content and clear information and great presenter. I am very impressed.

It was my first dabble so I loved all the content but I really liked Pam's explanation about not head hopping and the questions to ask yourself about using multiple POV.

I really enjoyed the topic and I hope there are more to come where I can 'try before I buy'

I am brand new to your org and the idea of novel writing so I'm looking forward to exploring what else you have to offer. I really enjoyed the session. Well done.

I enjoyed learning about the dos and don'ts of writing in multiple POVs and dual timelines. I've realised that my next book needs to be written in a dual timeline. I wasn't sure how to structure it before so this is a huge relief!

The AWC has been my go-to learning place for all things writing over the last six years! The skills I've developed in doing different courses has enabled me to not only finish my first novel, but it's given me the confidence to pitch to agents and publishers and put my book out there in the world. I would recommend the AWC to anyone who wants to learn how to write with skill, no matter what kind of writer they want to be.

Thank you for everything that you do.

I enjoyed Pamela's open approach - honest, clear, respectful and encouraging.

The take home message that hit me most was when Pamela raised weighing up introducing another POV with the lost opportunity for the reader to more intimately know and understand my main character. I think this is motivation enough for me to discipline my absolute desire to show the reader in detail how all my characters are being affected by the actions around them.

Do it! You'll be constantly considering your story as Pamela clearly outlines what MPOV mean, the traps, the opportunities it brings.

It came at a great time for me because I have an idea for a second novel and can't decide which point of view is right for my story.

Pamela's way of speaking and addressing key messages was great. She was direct and to the point. I loved her delivery. The handouts and Pamela's advice were invaluable.

If I want two points of view, I write each separately and then merge them. It sounds so simple, yet before it was pointed out to me, I did chapter-by-chapter, consecutive point-of-view swaps. Now I will make life easier by telling the stories of the two main characters holistically first. It makes complete sense!!

It's a must if you want to become a writer! So much to learn and discover.

I'm just so glad to be part of this special writing community.

Pamela's examples were explained clearly and very practical in approach. Having copies of the slide presentation and workbook is a fantastic hands-on back-up resource.

The seminar provided me with 'reminders' of things that I think I knew, but wasn't putting into action. I can now think of some stories that I've written where I couldn't pinpoint what was 'wrong' with them, but I knew they just didn't sit right. I think now I can return to them with some confidence knowing that it's the POVs that aren't hitting the mark and need some rejigging.

The AWC provides practical and useful writing advice and support to writers at all stages of their careers. It's a friendly and welcoming community where writers can build their skills at their own pace, and in turn, their 'writerly' confidence will grow.

Thanks for offering this terrific seminar - it was worth the time (and money).

I'm interested in writing stories with multiple points of view and was keen to pick up some tips to avoid making things confusing for the reader.

Pamela was fantastic, and I liked having a mix of visual and auditory info. The comments from other writers in the chat were also great - and not too distracting. I liked seeing book recommendations from other writers.

I feel more confident about handling multiple points of view in my writing.

AWC courses are fantastic, practical and easy to access. There are so many options to choose from, regardless of what sort of writer you'd like to be. I love being able to develop my skills without having to enrol in a costly and time-consuming post graduate course.

I got so much out of this course. I am so glad that I chose to do it!

Bernadette was wonderful. She is so personable, informative and has a great way of acknowledging value in all contributions.

The feedback aspect of it - it's invaluable! Feedback was always so thoughtful and constructive.

It's given me confidence in my ideas and the encouragement to keep going.

Plot and structure have always been real stumbling blocks for me but receiving constructive and positive feedback on ideas that I had developed in a short time showed me that I can move past my perceived plot and structure hurdles.

I would say that the content offered was engaging and exactly what you don't even know you need if you are wanting to develop your writing skills. Also, that the tutor and course participants will made such a supportive group.

I've been getting the newsletter for ages and thought it was about time I did a course. I chose Cut, Shape, Polish because I have self-published books and want them perfect. I also have two manuscripts that I am submitting to traditional publishers. I wanted them polished before I went the submission rounds.

There was a lot packed into the course. Everything I needed to correct the parts of my story that weren't working, improve the overall plot and revise until I am happy with the results.

I'm now confident to submit when I do my final read-through and proofread. I had lost confidence and had let the MS sit for about a year.

I know a lot of writers who use critique groups and beta readers and think it's enough to fix a manuscript. I recommend this course to cut, shape and polish until your MS shines like a diamond. You'll still have to send it to beta readers but it will be a much cleaner copy and close to publication standards. Thanks, AWC, Angela Slatter and Pamela Freeman for creating this editing course, and Valerie Koo for the lovely audios.

My mum was doing some research on writing courses and told me about it. I read the stuff on the website about the course and decided it would be a very good thing for me to do, as there were a couple of modules that I thought would be extremely beneficial to me and pretty much all the others were definitely useful.

My only slight hesitation was whether or not there would be too much that I already knew that would be covered. In the end I decided it didn't matter anyway.

I got so much more out of the course than I ever thought I would/could. I feel much more confident about one day achieving my dream of becoming a published author based on the tips that were given on what publishers look for when excepting manuscripts.

I liked the tutor and her feedback was very supportive.

I probably enjoyed the audio lessons the most, because I took A LOT of notes every time, no matter how much I told myself, 'OK, this time I'll just write down the absolute essentials. The bare bones of what is being said.' It never worked. But I got a lot out of it, so I'm not complaining that's for sure!

I have a lot more knowledge, especially about publishing and re-drafting and creating characters and creating a world. I've always been a bit nervous about writing fantasy because I've never really known how to create a good fantasy world and not info dump. I think I've also been a little bit, sort of scared, because I read a lot of good fantasy books and I've always thought, 'gosh, I hope I can write like that one day too.'

This course is amazing. I will do more of your courses in the future, definitely. And hopefully when I'm a published author one day, I'll be able to mention AWC in my acknowledgements page as helping me get the skills I need to become a published author!

Whether you want to become a published author or just want to improve your writing skills a bit, you should definitely do this course. You'll get so much out of it.

I was happy to find an online writing course created by practicing and published writers in Australia. The lesson plan looked like it would give a comprehensive introduction to the elements of good storytelling. I also liked that I would be starting with a group and that we would receive individual feedback.

While the course is reasonably priced, I was worried that I would be wasting my time and money if I couldn't start writing. I am so happy that this wasn't the case!

Pamela is a professional with years of experience and a lot of knowledge that she's happy to share with everyone. She provided insightful personalised feedback to everyone in the class. The constructive criticism she gave me for lesson 2 really improved my writing for the next three lessons. She's a delightful teacher and I'd be happy to learn more from her in the future.

Mondays excited me. Not only would there be a new lesson, there would also be feedback on my assignment. I worked hard on my assignments and knowing that someone (Pamela) was there to read it and help me improve was a great motivator.

The course has unlocked my story for me, so that I'm more able to write it. I now know that it's an idea with legs and I have the tools to develop it further. I feel empowered to write my stories.

If you want a comprehensive introduction to writing a story, take Creative Writing Stage 1 from the Australian Writers' Centre. Created by published authors; the course provides practical exercises to help you develop your characters, settings, and scenes. Your instructor will give you feedback that will really improve your writing and boost your confidence!

See you in a future course!