What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I have an interest in travelling throughout Australia and I wanted to learn a change of writing style to gain flexibility.

Valerie is down-to-earth and honest, but also approachable and encouraging. I learnt a lot about travel that I never knew: Pitch, hook, and angle.

Just do it if that's your passion!

I wanted to expand on the freelance writing skills course and write about my travels.

Valerie is an amazing tutor with a wealth of knowledge, who provides very specific targeted feedback. This is incredibly helpful.

I enjoyed learning how to describe my travels in a commercially viable writing format. I feel equipped to be able to pitch articles to publications with confidence. Now I just have to do it!

Excellent quality of both content and teaching, intensely packed with useful information.

I was extremely nervous before starting this course. I was diagnosed with ADHD about one year ago, and have finally gained a lot of clarity around many of the differences with my brain being neurologically wired differently. For me, sometimes it's hard to retain information or stay still for two hours for a lecture. Being able to watch the recording and pause it is life changing!

What I was first challenged with but then grew to love about Pamela was her honesty. She gives you all the exercises and tools, that if followed really do allow you to grow and develop your skills as a writer. She will push you to be better from all angles, both online and offline! If you don't know who you are as a writer at the start of the course, you can bet your bottom dollar you will have a pretty good understanding of where you will be heading by the end of it. Thank you, Pamela.

A big thank you for all the hard work that I'm sure goes on behind the scenes. You totally make people feel welcomed and supported.

Michelle is a very friendly and engaging person. She explained the content well and encouraged questions and discussion. I appreciate her feedback to my writing example.

It was a good mix of facts, exercises, and feedback. A great resource for writers and editors to learn, grow, and update their skills.

I love to write and read spec fic and wanted to develop my understanding and focus, so this course promised to be a good fit.

Pamela's experience and deep knowledge of the craft of writing was evident, as was her willingness and ability to discuss varied aspects on the fly. She was always thoughtful, respectful of everyone, and able to steer the conversation in appropriate directions with ease. All feedback Pamela provided was, in my opinion, spot on.

I enjoyed interacting with the other writers while Pamela illustrated concrete teaching points using our own writing as a springboard.

I'd say the AWC has a great deal of cred, with tutors who have well and truly been there and done that, so your money won't be wasted.

Pamela was an outstanding tutor. She was highly professional, gave clear and specific feedback and shared a wealth of knowledge and experience. I not only learnt a great deal from her about the craft of writing, but I finished the course feeling highly motivated, with a swag of practical advice that is really helping me to improve and progress my first draft.

I not only enjoyed the content of the modules, but getting to know the work of other participants through workshopping. It was motivating to feel part of a group of workshopping writers.

I have done a number of other writing courses, including some well-known courses in the UK. But this was the first time I felt that I was learning the practical writing skills I needed to improve and progress my writing, and to approach the process of fiction writing with more confidence. It has grounded my creativity in real skills and given me the tools to start developing an effective writing practice to get me to a finished novel manuscript.

I would highly recommend the AWC to friends and colleagues, particularly because of its focus on practical writing skills and process.

The practical tips for writing were really useful and motivating - it gives you something to try, to work with, to practice with, rather than just focusing on theory and concepts.

I found the practical writing tips really useful and I have used them when writing my own dialogue.

I have done a number of the AWC courses and have highly recommended them to friends. I love the way the AWC courses explore important ideas and concepts about writing, but ground that by teaching practical writing skills. Those writing skills, along with tips about how to approach the writing process, have really helped me to get past blocks and get words on paper - they are helping me to get it written!

I've really enjoyed my progression from Creative Writing 1 into Short Story Essentials. I feel my writing has improved exponentially. I invented a character for an exercise in CW1 and at the end of that course wrote a short story about him as a test of the skills I'd gained. I submitted that story to a competition (I'm still yet to hear how it went). But I struggled to find someone who could give me expert feedback before I submitted it. I felt Short Story Essentials would be a great way to get that personalised feedback and hone my writing skills at the same time. Now I feel my second short story with this character is even better than the first one. But even if that first story bombs in the competition, I know I can improve it!

It made me feel good about doing some things right by instinct alone, but it made me aware about how often I was lazy and would tell instead of show.

If you want to write better short stories - do this course.

Though I had edited my own short stories and poems for publication before, I was unsure how to move forward with editing a longer chapter book manuscript, that had grown organically and was in need of a structural edit. Now I have a dot point plan to work through.

Kate is highly engaging and engaged with the world of story. Generous in sharing her experience, content knowledge and craft expertise.

Though I wasn't sure whether the 'online' experience could match the 'in-person', I decided to dive on in because it was a 'live' session format. In hindsight, the small class size was definitely a plus, as were the professional course materials, ready for download.

In addition to excellent structural editing information, interspersed with snippets of 'mentor text'...I found listening to Kate discuss projects with each participant (all being at the stage of a manuscript 'completion') a valuable experience. The small group 'live' format made this enjoyable.

The AWC is a professional, well organised bunch, running engaging creative writing sessions for writers. No matter what stage of the journey, you're bound to find a course to inspire.

Absolutely loved Bernadette's online videos and feedback. Could listen to her all day. Loved her humour too. The content of each module was fascinating and the assessments were not demanding but challenging nonetheless.

I enjoyed being back in the learning zone. Learning something so completely new via such informative and interesting modules and now being able to practically apply it in my own business. I've completely changed my business website and I will also now start exploring a career in copywriting in general with SEO already under my belt.

Take a look at the courses. I think I've done 5 or 6 now and they've been self-paced, 6 weeks online and 6 months with tutor. There is something for everyone.

I like the way the course is laid out . I think the content is very useful in a direct way. The tutor was experienced. It was clear we were in the hands of a professional.

I now feel it is possible to come up with an idea, check out the submissions guide or the list of editors and send a pitch or an article on spec.

I would recommend the course and say it is very user friendly with real life, hands-on tasks. The feedback is very perceptive and worthwhile.

Kate was extremely knowledgeable and was very generous with her advice.

I enjoyed learning about the writing process from an accomplished and successful author and seeing how she goes about the plotting/planning process.

It has given me a deeper appreciation of how important the nuances of writing are to building and maintaining dramatic tension. Accepting that clear plotting is everything!

I follow the Australian Writers' Centre newsletter. This course seemed perfect for my love of travel and writing. The time difference between Canada and Australia initially seemed like an obstacle but since all of the modules are recorded with printed handouts, that turned out not to be a problem.

The course is well presented and provides great information about the travel writing industry. Valerie is extremely professional and clear in her presentation of the course modules. She has a direct approach to feedback that was helpful.

It has broadened my knowledge about the travel writing industry and the approach to submitting pitches. It is very different from the type of writing I have been doing lately - which is poetry and memoir writing.

The information about the travel writing industry is excellent and will help shape your path as a travel writer.

The tutor gave detailed feedback and I liked the videos they sent back so they could actually show what I needed to improve.

I liked the audio activity in module 8 that told me to visualise my settings and it really helped!

I learnt the proper structure to write an engaging story. I became more comfortable writing formally and for older audiences.

Try this writing course. It's really good and will change the way you write.

I'm looking to diversify my sources of income. But I was also excited about the chance to learn about how to structure freelance articles and about the nitty-gritty behind approaching editors.

The course materials were comprehensive. It wasn't until I began the first module that I realised how much time I needed to invest in the course each week, but I soon reorganised my schedule! This course has given me the confidence to go out there and start writing.

I really appreciated Alex's feedback on my assignments. It was well targeted and constructive. I'll absolutely work on my transitions! Great to learn from someone with so much real-world experience. Thanks, Alex!

I feel more inspired than ever to start pitching and writing articles.

Loved the course. Thanks very much! It's a great learning experience and well worth the time and effort.

I have used Scrivener for a year but not to its full potential. With no time to go through tutorials, this 2-hour course was recommended by a fellow writer.

This course was MONEY WELL SPENT and revealed so many valuable aspects which I was not utilising while using Scrivener.

Natasha was lovely to listen to and her instructions were clear and concise.

I liked how the audio lessons weren't strict and formal but were fun and relatable. I learnt new useful skills to enhance my writing.

If you really care about taking your writing to a whole new level, try it.

The self-paced learning and the assignment was fun.

I started writing a book series after completing this course. I had the first book assessed by Cathie Tasker and then enrolled in the Write Your Novel course. It has directed me to writing middle grade and I am really enjoying the process.

The courses offered at AWC are invaluable. The tutors are professional, highly experienced and very positive. I love the podcasts, writing community and Author Block Parties.

Kate Forsyth is a legend in the craft of storytelling, and I knew I needed help with my beautiful, chaotic mess of words.

Kate was a delight. Her information was structured so that I could apply it to my manuscript and develop a plan (and practice) for moving forward. Her experience and passion were inspiring and helpful.

On the first night, Kate listened to us explain our projects then, with laser focus, she indicated the areas we each needed assistance with. Throughout the sessions, Kate was able to pinpoint each student's issues and focus our work. Kate truly is the story doctor. She could see our symptoms, make a diagnosis, then apply the appropriate treatment. The small size of the class was great, and I learned from the other students also.

I feel equipped to finish my current work in progress. Also, I have skills to apply to my next manuscript.

Nat made the course memorable. It was very engaging and easy to follow. I watched with my kids because they found it fun - all the action and colours of books they've read.

Save yourself doing the publishing maze with closed eyes; get the direction, support and encouragement you need from those who have been there and done that...and are still at it because it works for them, so it's likely to work for you!