What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I have been loosely following Australian Writers' Centre for a while and I was finally ready to take my writing a bit more seriously. I wanted to polish my skills and learn how to pitch ideas.

Vivienne was great; her feedback was clear and much appreciated. I enjoyed having the accountability and the feedback.

I'm feeling so much more confident about pitching ideas and trying to make a career from freelance writing. The course was extremely helpful and well worth the time and financial investment.

I have been studying creative writing at uni and copywriting is not on the list of units. I wanted to know more about it. The price of the course was attractive and the length of time.

After the course, I am not left wondering about any aspect of copywriting, or what it means to be a copywriter. The handouts are invaluable, and the videos were easy to understand and felt perfectly conversational.

I want to set up a webpage and have a crack immediately. It's a great side hustle to learn and execute. You just have to understand what copywriting actually is.

I knew Pamela would be experienced and knowledgeable, but what I was impressed by was her thoroughness and dedication and that she seemed to immerse herself in each piece of work and care about every would-be author in the course.

I enjoyed seeing the beginnings of some fabulously creative pieces of work and recognising that the comments from Pamela would make these pieces even stronger.

Pamela really knows what she is talking about. I was impressed by the way she was able to provide detailed and relevant feedback to a variety of writers.

I liked that it is available all week, but with valuable feedback at the end of every week. I enjoyed getting valuable expert advice on my work. It was good that we could listen to everyone's feedback and learn from each other too.

AWC teachers are experts in their field and the teaching is practical and relevant.

I enjoyed the pragmatic elements of how publications operate, and the need to quickly get to the point when pitching an article and not wasting an editor's time.

The tutor was very positive & motivational! Vivienne provided constructive criticism which meant I didn't feel disheartened when hearing feedback from her.

I feel more confident in actually pitching an idea to a publication - I can see that the barrier to get started isn't that hard.

Do this if you already have some passion in writing and sharing ideas with people.

I loved the detail it went into. I didn't realise how much there was to think of.

I have all of these tools now to improve each scene of my second draft, especially my settings which I think I have been a bit slack on.

AWC courses are both very thorough and concise; it would be hard not to get something out of them.

Doing this course was well worth it. Excellent and thorough advice. I liked that the content was easy to understand and follow.

Several points just clicked and I feel I was able to make significant improvements to my manuscript.

I would love to illustrate children's books and I have been working towards this for some time. It would be an absolute dream to develop my skills in writing to both write and illustrate and get the wacky visions in my head out there. I would love to help struggling readers develop a love of reading.

My biggest concern was dedicating enough time to the course. The way it is run is fantastic. I ended up having so much other work on my shoulders and still managed to actively listen to the lessons, read the handouts and complete the assignments.

I love that there is so much detail about the industry. I feel so much better equipped to chase this passion. I have wanted to start writing for a long time. I briefly started a university course that was nowhere near as valuable as this one. I feel confident in practicing now where I was so lost before. I am so thankful I found the Magic and Mayhem podcast that led me here.

Susan was amazing. She was empowering, gentle and so knowledgeable. I can't thank her enough for all her wonderful feedback and dedication to helping me become better.

I loved the bonus material for illustrators. It really made me feel I'm where I'm meant to be.

I didn't know how to start a story at all. It was as if there are just too many options in how to write a story. You gave me structure and now it's like I can control my creative powers! It was also so nice to get positive feedback. I'm a very practical person and I'm almost embarrassed to admit I'm chasing this dream, but this all just feels normal now.

Please tell Susan thank you! She is a rock star and I can't wait to do another course to learn more!

Just do it! You won't just improve your writing but get guidance on the whole journey.

The course is sooo detailed; I had no idea that there were so many techniques to make kids' books funny.

There was so much to enjoy, but being a nerd, I have to say completing the assignment and receiving Tim's detailed and positive feedback was the most enjoyable. He was so thorough and kind.

It is cementing something I have been considering for a while, namely writing something in a longer form than picture books. While middle grade has always been my preferred reading style, the longer word count has made this rather daunting and prohibitive. I was given a great idea for a story by a child years ago, which I thought was rather ridiculous at the time, but still instinctively always knew there was a gem in there somewhere. With the knowledge gleaned from this course and the detailed planning and editing methods I've learned through this course, I may just attempt to write it. Even saying that I might use planning techniques is in itself a HUGE change. I'm rather excited to see what, if anything, will come of it.

The innovative and forward thinking team at the Australian Writers' Centre are always looking out for and developing new course ideas to meet the needs of writers in the 21st century, whether that be in actual formal writing courses, or in blogging, or promoting yourself and your books/work. There really is something for everyone and I have no doubt that there will always be something (often new) for everyone who is keen to engage in communicating with others through the magic of putting words on a page.

I found the way Dean taught the course very interesting to stay focused. His sense of humour gave it this little extra.

I never realised the details you can add into a real estate listing. I found Dean is great at adding stories to it which is what I try to do in my own copywriting. In this way, it was very beneficial for me.

Tim's video presentations were amazing. I also enjoyed Tim reading my work and giving feedback on video.

This course is amazing if you are looking at ways to add humour to your writing. Even if you aren't, the course is loaded with information relevant to all styles of writing. It's well presented and the feedback was meaningful.

Lesley is a great presenter and really emphasised the important aspects of writing for this age group. I will be more aware of adding drama and maybe a catastrophe or two to my writing.

Lesley presents a great course that covers all aspects of writing chapter books. If you want to write for children, it's a must.

Completing the course provides a sense of achievement. But knowing I will use the learnings provides a sense of excitement and anticipation!

Suzanne is a lovely tutor. I liked the balance of feedback - constructive and positive. She has the sweetest voice so I always looked forward to hearing her views on our work.

I enjoyed getting to understand the important elements of writing a children's picture book. Sparkling language, structure, rhythm, and having a protagonist that moves the story along. There is so much to learn but it all made sense.

It has given me the theoretical nous to actually do something. I am spending more time focused on the next steps. Watching more and researching more. It has become an important passion for me.

The course is a nice entrance into the world of writing. No matter how daunted you might feel, take the step and know that there are many others like you who aspire to write. This course gives you the tools to match up your aspiration with practical application.

Thank you for the encouragement and the ongoing benefits of this investment. I will continue to utilise the AWC resources and maybe another course down the track once I master what I have learnt and start pitching manuscripts to publishers.

I got more from the course than I expected as it allowed me to more fully develop the idea I have for a novel.

Pamela was very good at providing constructive feedback - I learnt from the feedback she provided to other students as well as myself. She also provided extra tips on novel writing through the modules, which I found very valuable. She was also very approachable in answering questions.

About halfway through I stopped being concerned about being judged and just looked forward to the feedback and discussion. Our exercises didn't have to be perfectly crafted, as it was about learning.

I'm committing to setting up a writing routine - I really don't want to lose the momentum and feeling of creativity the course gave me. I'm also trying to approach it as being about having fun without the pressure of looking ahead to whether I can get published. I also feel there is more support available to help me on my way with other courses.

The AWC offers a very supportive environment with practical advice. You're not 'cut loose' at the end, as there's an ongoing group of people who you can interact with if you're willing to put yourself out there, and lots of options to keep learning and finishing your novel through courses.

I really enjoyed the course and am glad I did it. After years of procrastination, it feels like my dream of writing could be more real if I can just commit to keep writing. Just do it.

The tutor really knows what she's talking about. It was great listening to and learning from her, as she was neither going too fast or too slow. Her pace is good and just right!

It offered useful and practical advice in what I considered an acceptable span of time. I really learned things that I can apply in my writing.

I had never encountered the term 'SEO' before I tried to build my own website. As a graduate of the Copywriting Essentials course, I enrolled in SEO Copywriting to learn about a type of writing completely new to me.

Being entirely unfamiliar with SEO, I was amazed at how much I was able to learn and apply to my website project immediately. And it works! I also learned a great deal from the other writers in my cohort and their assignments.

SEO Copywriting was my third course with Bernadette, and I have learned and grown tremendously as a writer and small business owner in each of her courses. I regularly reference my course materials and audio lessons. Bernadette's feedback is sincere and constructive, and always reflects on skill development in the context of wider business practices. Her courses have been transformational for me.

I loved the audio lessons! They're so good! Repeat! The assignments, feedback, and learning from other students was also fantastic.

SEO Copywriting has given me another set of skills and layer to consider in all of my content writing. It has also been a huge help to my two website projects for my own businesses.

You will never find better value for money, time, and effort than the courses at AWC. The instructors and feedback are superb, and the content is always practical and immediately useful in my projects. So worthwhile!

Thanks so much, Bernadette and AWC!

Michelle was thorough and easy to understand.

I enjoyed the group working through the prepared document for editing. I now have a systemised structure and approach to confidently edit.

A foundational course. Essential if you wish to ensure that your documents, posts etc go out with a professional finish.

As always, Valerie is thorough, visionary and practical. Some of her suggestions were quite unexpected; but she was right.

I now have the confidence to get on with travel writing and, in particular, pitching.

Do yourself a favour. Do it.

I certainly learned things about the fantasy, sci fi and spec fiction etc genre, but the homework exercises and discussions during class also illuminated some fiction writing information that I was not aware of and was very helpful. The homework exercises were exceptionally helpful to support my learning.

Pamela is a lovely person, very generous with her knowledge and she is obviously extremely experienced in fiction writing and publishing. I also found doing it on zoom was VERY convenient.

The course has enhanced my confidence. I seem to be moving along the right path with all this, and elements of the course confirmed that for me. It was very encouraging.

AWC courses are very professional, very challenging (in a good way), very edifying, and the classes are always very friendly and welcoming. I am looking forward to my next AWC course. Thank you.

I intend to get back in to the world as my last child leaves home this year and was a freelance writer previously. I have done previous courses and I enjoy the structure and discipline which makes me shift my own career forward rather than getting caught up in everyone else's needs.

The tutor was great. Love the feedback in its honesty and clarity. I am always hungry for feedback so the recordings of these was a highlight. I like being forced to write as I enjoy it. Also working with such a wide variety of people in an online class.

It has made me think that maybe I can do this. I have been published for many years before but lost a lot of confidence over the years of doing other stuff.

A good way to get going with your writing, whilst being able to fit into your week.