What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Pamela is a wonderfully knowledgeable, generous and encouraging presenter.

Every AWC course I do further fuels my enthusiasm and belief in my ability to be a crime fiction novelist.

Pamela is a great presenter - a warm personality sharing what was, for me, the perfect mix of theory and practical examples.

I'm feeling a sense of confidence about my writing. The Focus session brought home to me that, like anything else, there are very practical techniques to being a great author and I've found a place where I can now access those resources thanks to the quality of your presenters.

It was my first seminar with AWC and I finished the workshop really feeling like I'd made a great choice committing to educating myself through the Centre.

Returned to the first draft of my MG novel. Oh, God! So much telling. Needs more show. After completing other courses that attempted to explain the process, I came away more confused -- particularly by the feeling they were prescribing, 'Show, never tell'. I knew Pamela was an excellent communicator and that she would, in a clear and concise manner, help me understand showing and how to balance it with appropriate ways (and times) to tell. I was not disappointed.

Thanks, Pamela. The clarity and efficiency of your insightful 'Focus on Show, Don't Tell' presentation has helped me enormously. Your enthusiasm is infectious. This is the first time I've understood the nuts and bolts of show, don't tell. You're inspiring.

I had completed the 4th draft of my manuscript and never understood this phrase until Pamela sorted it!

One of the best AWC courses I have done and I have done a lot.

While I feel like I'm a confident business writer, the refresher on grammar and punctuation alone was amazing. All of the tools in this course are so practical and I printed out cheat sheets to have near my desk. The Business Style Guide is also amazing and such a great resource. I knew I needed to write at a certain level for my audience, but I wasn't aware of the Gunning Fog Index so that was great to hear about also.

This is a course that should be done by absolutely everyone who spends any time at a desk, sending emails, writing documents etc. It's so worthwhile. I wish more people in my organisation would do this course!

It's given me more skills and knowledge to make sure I write better business documents.

Detailed feedback, clear industry knowledge, and a great community of learners. It was amazing to listen to Vivienne's feedback for all of us. So much knowledge shared.

The weekly modular nature of the course pushed me to have a more regular writing practise. Having a Sunday deadline helped me plan out my time and assignments.

My natural tendency is to write and research in far too much detail. I would create a three-tiered cake with royal icing, piping and fondant flowers, but learnt how to serve up a simple, manageable slice! This course reminded me to edit ruthlessly and keep ideas crystal clear so that readers can pick up my work, sip their coffee, and read with ease. Never make your readers work to understand what you mean! Clarity is key!

The personal feedback I received was worth its weight in gold. Vivienne's detailed comments weren't always what I wanted to hear but were always what I needed to know! Thank you!

Thoroughly enjoyed the content and structure of this course. Logical and informative.

I wanted to explore if this was something that would interest me as I knew nothing about copywriting.

I enjoyed all of the course. Mark was terrific and gave a lot of great insights.

I never thought I could be a copywriter. Now it is all I want to do! I have tried so many things in my life... I can't tell you how happy I am - I know in every part of my being that this is the path for me. Why did I never come across copywriting sooner! It's what I am meant to do.

I was impressed with the feedback. The tutor gave a lot of thought to what she said and it made a lot of sense. She was thorough and I learned a lot from her.

I had done some other online courses about freelance writing a few years ago and can barely remember what they had to say and they didn't give me the confidence to begin. That point of actually beginning and taking the first step still seemed overwhelming. After doing this course, however, I feel that I know exactly what to do now. How to proceed and take that first step. And the fact that this is stage one. So I have promised myself that if I take the next step and get one article published I will do the next course in the confidence that there will be more learning and support there as I go forward.

I certainly would recommend the AWC. You have a course for just about anything.

I was attracted to this course because it was designed for authors.

Michelle was very thorough and covered a multitude of relevant topics. The course has given me technical knowledge about, and tips for, my author website, i.e. what to do and what not to do. If a professional designs my website, I know what questions to ask them, what to request be added and what can be omitted.

Do this course and learn tips from an expert.

I have enrolled in many of the Australian Writers' Centre courses now. They are enjoyable and full of great advice about writing. I am doing all I can to learn how I can improve on the skills and knowledge I already have.

No matter what stage of writing you are at and what skills and knowledge you have, these courses will teach you new skills, tell you what is most popular and accepted currently and it will give you confidence to keep going if you need encouragement.

I've tried to use Scrivener but felt overwhelmed at its complexity. After the course, I now have a really good understanding of what Scrivener can do and it's prompted me to start writing. Thanks!

It has helped me to understand how to structure my ideas for writing and how to overcome blocks, as well as storing things and labelling things. Really helpful.

I was prompted to shift scenes in a way that altered how the story was told. This brought excitement to my writing and I felt less bogged down. Corkboard thread, composition mode - it all opened my creativity.

Do this 2-hour course. It will kick off your creative ideas. Natasha is an excellent and thorough teacher.

I loved how this course was broken down into sections with many examples. Lots of information to think about.

I am an emerging writer and currently taking in all of the information. My "aha" moment is all of the topics to think about (i.e. language, format, characters etc ) when writing chapter books. It is rather tricky, and yet I am amazed by the creativity.

I absolutely love the Australian Writers' Centre. I shared with my friend something that I had written, and she replied, "OMG! Where did you learn that?" Of course, I told her about AWC.

I have been receiving AWC email content for a few years now and have never acted on it (shame on me), but I have made 2023 a year in taking small steps to fulfilling my dream of becoming a fulltime writer. When this little introductory course found its way to my email inbox, I knew I needed to act.

I was so surprised by the endless career paths writing can take you. I have always wanted to be a novelist but have been so afraid of my creative intuitions for a long time, to the point when I have constantly ignored the screaming voice in my head. I really did enjoy hearing the experiences other graduates have followed in their paths to fulfilling their dreams and I really do believe I can forge my own path. Like Valerie stated throughout the course, "small steps," it will not happen overnight but with dedication, belief and hard work, there is no earthly reason why it won't happen.

REINVENT YOURSELF is an introductory course and sets out to motivate, inspire and inform. Valerie has done just that. It is the perfect "first step" for anyone considering a career or "living out a dream" in writing.

Valerie is amazing. Not only does she introduce a potential writer to the experiences and successes of graduates in all forms of writing, but the whole concept of the Australian Writers' Centre is surreal. To have such a professional teaching vocation available to people from all walks-of-life across Australia and beyond is a privilege that should not be taken for granted. Valerie wants you to succeed. AWC wants its graduates to become the best version of themselves. Having the convenience to achieve your writing goals on-line is just the "strawberry on top." I am really excited about what I can achieve.

Please, please do not hesitate. If you want to become a writer in any field, AWC will set you on the right path.

I'm at a crossroads in my life and just knew this course would be perfect for me while I wait for the Freelance Writing Stage 1 to start. I knew it would motivate me to start making changes in my life and start writing!

Love the course, and love hearing from people who've done courses with AWC and gone on to be published.

It has motivated me to make the change and get started!

These guys are great, the content is amazing and there are so many courses to choose from.

The tutor is a wonderful lady, very knowledgeable and I know to refine knowledge from an academic background into a simpler form was some achievement. I loved her feedback - having been doing a postgraduate degree myself I am used to constructive feedback and Bernadette was very nice, giving helpful advice and very fair to every student.

I feel much more confident about writing copy and found ways to stop my writer's block and imposter syndrome. She nailed it when it came to all the little issues we face.

Awesome course.

I am in the process of reinventing myself and thought it would be a good tool to sense-check how I am going and give me some extra information or inspiration

Valerie was very honest and practical, always reinforcing that reinventing yourself as a writer can be done.

In conjunction with other AWC courses, I have actually started my freelance writing business.

If you want to be any kind of writer, AWC has a course for you and it will be well-structured, allows you to manage your time and other priorities and deliver valuable skills to help change your life.

This course appealed to me as I've always held a wee pipe dream to write a children's book :) I hoped to understand the processes and intricacies involved (and I did!).

Our tutor Cathie was great. Her feedback was constructive, thought-provoking (for me), and written with care.

I feel MUCH more knowledgeable. I still have a long way to go... and, perhaps I'll enrol in another course :)

I had pantsed the first part of my novel but felt I had lost control of it and didn't know how to progress the story in a way that made sense. Definitely word spew, to borrow another writer's words. I saw the Write Your Novel course as a way to provide structure to my work and give me deadlines to ensure I completed the first draft.

The course is so comprehensive and I feel Cathie has just the right amount of push and reward with new writers. I learnt so much and really enjoyed the process. Cathie's direction and feedback were excellent. I've come back for round 2, so that indicates the respect I have for Cathie and the course.

It has given me the confidence to continue writing. Also, this has been a time of transition in my life and the course and the contact with the other students has helped me keep my chin up.

If you are serious about wanting to advance your writing and give yourself a good chance of being published, the courses at AWC will give you the knowledge and confidence to persevere until you have that well written manuscript.

I'd like to thank Cathie Tasker and everybody at AWC, including the administration staff and course writers. I've sat in on some of your other podcasts and I always learn something new.

I appreciated the tutor taking the time to read assignments and found the feedback useful, as both positive aspects of the assignments and tips for improvements were identified.

I enjoyed the challenge of producing writing that incorporated the techniques we had been given in each module. And then waiting in anticipation for the feedback to see where I could improve.

The course has given me the incentive to really focus on my writing and inspired me to think more critically about the craft of writing.

The Australian Writers' Centre can give you tools to help you develop your creative writing skills and the incentive to try them out.

While this course comes across as being more tailored to writers who have already had books published, it contains plenty of tips for writers who are still in the beginnings of their writing journey, like me.

I enjoyed the clear presentation, good use of examples to illustrate, deconstruction of complex technological concepts.

It has given me an impetus and tools to improve my author website which is long overdue.