What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I really wanted to do something creative and had enjoyed writing at school. I also needed something which I could do while working full time.

I think the course is a great introduction to creative writing and - for someone like me who just wanted to do something creative and not necessarily write a book or get published - it was really helpful.

Angela provided really useful feedback and it was also provided in a very timely manner.

I enjoyed having to use my brain in a more creative way and, although it was challenging, I think my writing has improved already.

It's made me more confident about just giving writing a go. It's also made me want to develop my imagination more so I take more note of my surroundings now.

I even entered the Furious Fiction competition for the 2nd time and the 2nd effort is a definite improvement on the 1st!

Because I haven't actually written since school, I hadn't thought much about structure or setting in writing so to learn about the colours (for action, setting) etc and turning points etc really hit home that woah this is a craft and - even better - you can improve with practice!

I'd say that for anyone who feels like their creativity is non-existent and who has even a vague interest in writing then go for it! It's not a huge outlay in terms of finance or time and you don't need to be an aspiring author to get the benefit from it.

Just a big thank you to Angela for her time and feedback. At no point was I made to feel less than even though I knew other students were far more experienced at writing.

I looked at doing a post graduate university degree and found that the five-week commitment for the AWC course at this stage for me was far more attractive.

I felt it was designed to encourage success. Never once did I feel like, 'I have to do my writing course'. It was a pleasure and achievable.

Angela was constructive and encouraging and exceptionally timely.

It has opened up my thinking about the necessary processes for creating long fiction. I think it has prepared me for the work involved.

The five weeks went so quickly.

Angela is extremely knowledgeable, honest, and feedback was constructive. She explained things simply.

I enjoyed the weekly feedback and guidance.

It made me sit down and think and not come up for air until my weekly assignment was completed. This course took me beyond my comfort zone.

If you want to develop, or gain creative writing skills and techniques, this course is full of tools to help you do that.

I found Stephen's feedback to be clear and helpful - pointing out any lack of clarity, any weakness, and what I could do to strengthen it. Stephen's questions about my work revealed areas I was unclear on myself and helped me pinpoint some key problem areas I sensed were in my writing but struggled to identify.

I enjoyed the structure and presentation of this course and the way feedback was presented. It was also helpful to read others writing and the feedback on that.

For me, this course has confirmed my passion for writing. I have been stretched and challenged in a good way and have a better understanding of the skills I need to keep working on and how to keep developing then.

I was keen to relearn the basics of creative writing. I remember learning about it in school and how much I enjoyed and I felt the urge to write again. I have always wanted to write a fiction novel and tried years ago but I found it difficult to write. Recently I decided I wanted to try again but do it the right way this time by learning properly.

I was worried that I would realise that writing would be too hard to stick to, but doing the course made me realise that once you know the basics it makes things less scary and a lot easier to navigate.

Stephen gave fair and constructive feedback and I really valued his expertise. He gave feedback that was encouraging but also made me reflect more on my writing and what to improve.

I loved all of the course. The audio lessons were very informative and the assignments were interesting and were useful in applying the learnings from the audio lessons and resources. The assignments were great in not being too onerous but were effective in teaching us how to focus on different aspects of creative writing. I found that the teaching material was clear and explained well. I also enjoyed receiving feedback on assignments, as it helped me improve!

This course has had quite a profound impact as I was able to rediscover my love of creative writing and just being creative, as I am realising how wonderful it is to be creative! It has also given me the momentum to write a novel and I will be keeping up the momentum by starting Novel Writing Essentials straight after this course.

I would recommend it because of the high quality of teaching where concepts are explained in a way that is easy to understand and is interesting content! I think in this course, the use of providing handouts, audio lessons, assignments and feedback is a great combination and a great way to learn and apply your newly acquired skills.

After a bit of research into writing courses that could be completed online, I was excited to find the AWC website and amazed by the variety of courses on offer. As a beginner, who has recently been bitten by the writing bug, it made practical sense to start with Creative Writing Stage 1.

Stephen provided insightful and valuable feedback which had a great impact on my writing. His easygoing, yet professional manner was spot on! I would be delighted to have him as a tutor in any future courses I take with the AWC.

The course as a whole was extremely enjoyable. Getting critical feedback on my writing and being able to learn through watching the feedback given to the other students in the course is probably what I found most enjoyable. The recorded lessons were great to listen to each week and the handouts are right beside me on my desk where I write. I'm finding them a useful tool!

It changed the way I approach writing scenes and characters entirely. I feel like when I sit down to write a scene from the story I am working on, I am able to begin more easily and be critical with myself. For example, what purpose does this scene serve?

I have also learnt about myself, and what my approach to writing is. I know now that I am somewhere between a plotter and a pantser (mostly pantser) and I like to write scenes, then fill in the gaps.

I would say that if you were struggling to find your feet creatively, or had a desire to improve your creative writing or unpack how a story is structured and what goes into creating a good story, then this is the course for you!

I was so honoured to have Amanda Hampson as our tutor. I didn’t expect to have a successful writer as our tutor. And she was lovely. Gentle feedback - didn’t scare me away and made us seem like a group even though it was remote. She was excellent. Warm and friendly. Lots of useful suggestions. Anything she said had gravitas due to her experience.

I had a moment of clarity where after I had submitted a couple of the writing tasks - I realised how much I enjoyed writing. I always liked it at school and I even like business writing but creative writing felt fulfilling. I am now interested in doing more. I enrolled in the writing group where you meet every two weeks and share writing.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the remote learning. I can’t think of a thing that would make it better for me.

I felt good about actually writing and not just thinking about it. Just getting a start after decades is a very big thing. The small tasks that were set were perfect to help put the toe in. Then getting some gentle feedback and listening to others’ stories. It was a very fulfilling feeling revisiting one of my first loves. And with a successful writer as a guide.

You have to do it. It’s a polished course and perfect to get you started actually writing again. It’s a feeling of a new start.

Just thank you. All my interactions with AWC have been very positive.

I was attracted by the flexibility of learning as well as the reasonable price. It suits for a person like me who works full-time and I can just do it on my days off.

Pamela Freeman is an encouraging tutor, giving me confidence every week although I'm a newbie to writing. She was objective when she presented the feedback.

I enjoyed reading amazing stories submitted by other participants.

Even if you do not have any plan to become a writer, just give it a go. It will improve your imagination and you will never read novels the same way again because you will see them in a different light.

Thank you AWC for making this course accessible and reasonably priced.

The lessons and material provided were extensive and very easy to access and follow. It was fabulous being able to read other people's work, make comments and get feedback from others.

The weekly feedback from Pamela Freeman was exceeding quick turnaround so you could take on board feedback for the next week. It was very real - good when good, bad when bad and very constructive when something needed tweaking.

Doing a writing course with the Australian Writers' Centre has shifted me from wanting to write with a story in my head to actually writing with a story on the page. It has also helped me understand that writing is a craft that requires skill, discipline and time - all things that need to be front of mind and constantly worked on.

I was impressed with the quality of Reinvent Yourself and this was the next logical step!

Pamela is highly experienced and knowledgeable. She gave constructive, actionable feedback in a very supportive manner - that's not an easy thing to do! I learned from her feedback to the whole class and will rewatch her feedback videos many times, I'm sure.

I enjoyed reading the class assignments and then listening to Pamela's feedback. It's amazing how such diverse ideas arise from the same starting point! The feedback helped me understand structural issues and how to strengthen my writing.

The more I understand and apply the foundations of creative writing, the easier it is to write well.

Just as I'd hoped, I found the same joy in creative writing that I felt as a child. I'm excited to keep learning and writing!

I’ve found the course very interesting and useful. As I said in my introduction to Module 1, I was hoping to reawaken my interest and ability in writing creatively. My interest is definitely reawakened and I’ve picked up many things during the course that I hope will improve my ability

It has provided me with the basics in writing creative fiction, much of which I probably wouldn't have found if I hadn't undertaken the course. Now I have to apply those basics and build on them.

If you want to learn anything or everything about writing, you'll find a course at the AWC.

Pamela was very good. Feedback was excellent and invaluable.

I enjoyed finding that there are so many others of a like-mind, each with different writing skills and aspirations, and that that's ok.

I realise there is nothing wrong with writing for the joy of it and nothing odd in wanting to "learn" to write. There is much to learn, much to discover. At the very least, learning to write helps me appreciate reading in a different and better way. It's just great.

Having to learn to write does not mean a lack of writing talent, much like the naturally talented athlete that needs to train.

Try it. I can't see how anything else could be better.

I enjoyed the whole course. The challenge of completing the assignments and getting the feedback was the best. Constructive feedback is great. The support of others in providing feedback was also encouraging.

Pamela’s feedback was honest and very helpful. I was amazed at a couple of her comments as she doesn’t know me, yet she was spot on with particular comments. All very helpful.

I now think about my writing. Before words would just flow and I would write. I now have a small insight into thinking and writing like an author. The course has encouraged me to study writing more and to pursue my dream of finishing books I have started.

I have recommended this to a couple of friends as they’re writing stories with the hope of publishing. I believe this course clarifies the many subtle differences between being able to write a story and being able to become an author.

I am so pleased I decided to take this course and look forward to the Novel Writing Essentials (already enrolled) and other courses I intend to do.

As someone wanting to explore my interest in writing, I chose the course as a way to learn more about how writing a story works and whether I could take it a step further.

The tutor was lovely. She gave lots of informative feedback and helpful constructive criticism. I learnt a lot.

I enjoyed being able to learn whilst also having freedom with what I was writing about.

Learning about character driven and plot driven aspects really helped me understand how to structure a story! My knowledge and experience have both grown.

At first, I was extremely scared to let someone else read my work but my tutor was so lovely and made some super valid points. I was happy to take in her feedback and I really think that everything made more sense when I looked at it from her point of view.

I particularly enjoyed applying everything that was taught in this course into my current reads. It put everything into perspective and really made me understand the difference small things in a story make. I can be like "Oh! Thats why I didn't like that story" or "That's why I didn't connect with the character!" I found a surprise enjoyment in analysing such things.

I think the course was quite well done. It was chock full of information - very helpful for a newbie like myself. I like that there was a focus on many different aspects of writing, from how to get started all the way up to thinking about the possibility of publishing in the future.

The online tutor was great - she seemed respectful, yet honest in her critiques. I found that receiving feedback was one of the most useful aspects of the course. Every time I write something new now I have those critiques/suggestions in my head.

I enjoyed having a bit of structure and something to keep me 'on task'. I find it easy to come up with excuses of why I'm not writing, but this course gave me the motivation to stick to it. I enjoyed receiving the feedback on my work and the feedback on other's work as well.

It's both given me inspiration and motivation to continue writing, but at the same time I must admit that it's created doubt about if I'm good enough to actually pursue this as something more than a hobby. This is ok though, as part of what I wanted from this course was the opportunity to actually try writing (which I haven't really done before) and to discover and learn about myself and my writing capabilities.

There were many things that I learned, but possibly the 'show and don't tell'. I've heard this before, but it never really sunk in until the tutor was giving examples of it when critiquing people's work. I constantly use that motto now when writing to try and improve my work.

I'd definitely recommend a course here. I found it full of valuable information and tips to improve my writing. It is a very supportive and encouraging environment.

Thank you for putting together such a great course!

Loved it. The course was really useful and I think it improved my writing a lot.

The tutor was great. Helpful and thoughtful.

It just made me more aware of every aspect of writing.

I really enjoyed this opportunity, and it gave me the confidence to believe in myself, my knowledge and my writing. It also made me a better teacher of writing and literature, so thank you!

I was hesitant about sharing my writing but my fears were soon put at ease.

The tutor was amazing! So knowledgeable, caring and wise.

I loved all of it. Sharing work; listening to podcasts. I am so much more confident now, and look at writing in a different way. Thank you :-)

The course was incredibly digestible. We were given so much aiding information with such a manageable delivery.

I have to praise my tutor's nature for offering feedback in a supportive, friendly way. Definitely the kind of teacher we need more of!

I loved the format of the assignments and all of the lessons leading up to it. I thoroughly enjoyed offering and receiving feedback from my peers and those of my tutor.

I feel equipped to write in a way I never have before and I'm busting to apply all I've learned. I love that I can look at a book or even a film with a new, critical lens.

I've always enjoyed reading and writing but had not written creatively since school, a long time ago! So I was keen to go back to basics and learn the fundamentals of crafting a story.

With no background in writing, I was rather daunted about joining a tutor-led course and sharing my work with others. I am so glad I was brave enough to do so!

The course is packed with information. I devoured the module audio lessons, each set out in a structured way with handouts and a manageable assignment to complete. I enjoyed the challenge of having an assignment to hand in each week, and the tutor feedback and peer comments were a big part of motivating me to keep going.

Pamela was a wonderful tutor giving everyone valuable feedback, always positive and encouraging, giving us suggestions and examples to improve our work. I loved the audio feedback as it seemed really personal delivered in that way.

I loved everything about it! It has given me the beginning skills and confidence to continue a daily writing practice, to think about all those story ideas that have been buzzing and inspired me to just keep going! If only for the true pleasure of putting words on the page. And that's OK.

What surprised me, I think I surprised myself, was the part of the course I expected to be most daunting, sharing my work and giving feedback, was so helpful and so much fun! It really helped me look critically at my writing and others' pieces and see how it might be improved. Finding other participants who enjoyed the course also, and making plans to keep in touch has been a fantastic bonus.

Absolutely go for it! Don't hesitate or feel daunted about sharing your work; we are all learning and it is an encouraging and supportive environment with lovely tutors that give positive and constructive feedback!

Thank you so much Pamela and the whole team at AWC for offering these courses, accessible to everyone, wherever we may live!!

I really want to keep writing!!