What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Writing a children's book has been a lifelong dream. I'm also trying to set a good example for my young children - if you want to achieve something, you often have to put in the time, practice and hard work.

I was very motivated by the deadline of completing some writing every week - it kept me focused. I appreciated the tutor's kind observations, encouraging and then also constructive.

It was the first step on my path to making my dream come true.... It has given me a framework to draft my ideas around.

If you want to be an author, you need to see yourself as an author! As a busy stay at home mum with a dream, it gave me permission to put aside some time to start focusing on a goal.

Don't just talk about it, do it!

This course has given me a great basic understanding of the anatomy of a picture book and what publishers are looking for. Within a couple of weeks of starting the course I was analysing the books I read to my kids. Also, the information on how to put together a manuscript for a publisher is just what I needed to know.

It's such an easy course to fit around life. I listened to the lessons while doing the kindy/daycare run. And each week was packed with information, tips and insider knowledge that I soaked up.

I'd listened to the 'So you Want to be a Writer' Podcast for years, and listened to some great interviews with picture book authors, such as Victoria Mackinlay. The interviews were very inspiring. I've always wanted to write books. Since having kids my passion for picture books has grown. Lately, I haven't been able to stop thinking about writing picture books and did a few drafts earlier this year but wanted to make sure I was on the right track from the get go. I finally decided to go for it and I'm so glad I did!

I loved learning all about picture books, styles, process and learning about particular authors to look out for and classic books to add to my library. I also loved reading the stories from other classmates and hearing feedback about everyone's work.

Suzanne was great and very knowledgeable and helped me see the gaps in my stories and provided great feedback.

It's inspired me to move forward with my picture book writing!

Cathie was great. Her feedback was very thorough and very valuable, very encouraging and very constructive.

I had written a story prior to joining the course. When I read that story and the stories that I have written as part of this course, I can see a huge difference. It was fun to see myself improve through my stories.

My writing wasn't too bad (or so I thought :)), but it was very good to learn the technicality of picture book writing. The reference materials given were very good too.

A must-have if you want to learn the technical aspects of picture book writing.

Suzanne's tutorials were easy to follow and the feedback was excellent. It was exciting to submit a new story each week. I enjoyed the homework and feedback.

I really feel confident to submit my stories. Maybe I will get them rejected but to have the confidence to actually submit is quite exciting.

It's more important to gain knowledge on the mechanics of a story and the process of submitting for publication than you think. The Australian Writers' Centre teaches you all that and more.

I really liked the tutor's constructive criticism. She pointed out where we were doing the right things, so we could keep doing them, but also offered advice and suggestions on how to improve with specific examples. She was very encouraging and I noticed Suzanne replied within a reasonable time if someone put a question in the group chat.

I enjoyed reading other people's work and - although this was also the most terrifying part - putting my own work up for others to read.

It has given me confidence in my own ability and motivated me to do the masterclass and spend more time writing in general.

Thank you so much! I wish I'd done this a long time ago.

Suzanne's feedback was honest and fair. Her suggestions were excellent and I will definitely go forth in my writing with her advice in the back of my mind.

It's opened my eyes to how much work goes into writing a picture book. There's soooo much more to it than I first thought.

Do it! Such amazing content.

Being a teacher librarian in a P-12 school, I spend a lot of my time choosing and reading picture books. I wanted to get a sense of how to write one to see what it was that made them so special. Once I started and realised how challenging it is to write a picture book, I discovered a new appreciation for the wonderful picture book authors we have in Australia.

Suzanne was very helpful with her feedback. I found it beneficial to listen to all of the feedback to help with my own writing.

The way that the course is delivered is excellent. Not too taxing on time which suits me at this time of my life. I also enjoyed the information about publishers and the complexities of how to submit work. I thought that the course was great for the price with very valuable information shared.

I think I will start to gather stories in a journal to see where they end up. I've had a lot of ideas over the past years but haven't committed to writing them down. It's given me permission to start!

I have always loved reading and writing, and always imagined I would be a writer one day... however, I found life kept pulling me in other directions. With one toddler already, and another baby on the way, I realised it's never going to happen if I don't prioritise time to write. I read a lot of picture books with my toddler and I would love to write books that she can enjoy, but I knew there would be more to this genre than meets the eye. I decided to take this course to learn the ins and outs of creating a picture book.

The tutor was really great - I found the feedback provided for our whole cohort to be very useful. There were things picked up from the work of other participants that I have tucked away for future reference as they may well have popped up in my work down the track.

This course is pure gold with no fluffy stuff. It gets right to the point and shares exactly what one needs to know about how to write this genre. I started out doing a Master's degree in Writing (part-time around work and life) and completed 4 subjects. One year of study. I got more out of this 5-week course.

It has given me the confidence to give this a real go. And also a blueprint of how to go about it.

I liked the way information was given - there was no 'dumbing down' and it was realistic and usable information. It treated us as intelligent people capable of learning to write.

Cathie clearly has a lot of knowledge and was very encouraging. She tried hard to tailor her feedback to each individual which was beneficial for us all. She gently hinted us in the right direction.

I have greater understanding of the recipe for a picture book, and I feel I have a more realistic understanding of what to expect when writing a good picture book. It has helped me find a framework I can fit my creativity into, and encourages me to refine my practice.

The course was easy to access, with valuable content and practical skills you can apply.

Thank you to Cathie for her insights. I have really enjoyed engaging in this course and will continue to refer to the content as a new author!

Cathie's feedback was invaluable, clear and constructive and provided concrete suggestions to try.

It was a complete eye-opener into the world of picture books. 'Deceptively simple' - it was a challenge.

I feel it has helped my writing by learning how to refine my use of words, use sparkling language using the 'show don't tell' way of writing and becoming aware of the use of other senses apart from sight.

The courses I have done have been comprehensive, informative and given me the opportunity to read other participants' writing and connect online. The feedback from tutors has been invaluable.

Thank you for another great course.

I learnt a lot from the course, broadening my ideas of picture book writing and its complexities - beyond my naive ideas of its simplicity and realising its depth was greater than I first thought.

It's made me put into words my story, work on the ideas creatively, and rethink my original piece to my final piece, knowing there is more work to be done.

I was concerned it would be another writing course that I would do and put away, not to be looked at again. However, this has been an incredible experience which has given me confidence in my writing with the techniques to help me finish and polish my stories, rather than having them sit on my computer not knowing what to do with them next.

It was a wonderful opportunity to have Cathie Tasker as a tutor - to have her background and knowledge giving me feedback and helping me with my story ideas (some 10+ years old) was a very valuable experience.

AWC wants you to succeed in your writing and gives you so much information to help you.

After hearing Nat Amoore speak so highly of Cathie Tasker and reading about her illustrious career, I really wanted to do this course and be guided by her. I knew that Cathie's wealth of knowledge would help me grow and improve as a writer. I also found Cathie's feedback for myself and my classmates to be really helpful and I greatly appreciated her words of encouragement as well.

First of all, I absolutely loved that I could fit the course in around other commitments. I also enjoyed the challenge of submitting an assignment each week and getting Cathie's valuable feedback. Another aspect I was grateful for was to be able to go through this experience with a number of classmates. Being able to read each other's assignments and also each other's feedback from Cathie was a great way to learn even more.

I have learnt so much about writing children's picture books. I knew that there would be a lot to learn but never could have imagined just how complex it could actually be. Now that I have completed this course, I feel that I can create stories that have potential to be published. I don't think this would have been possible otherwise.

For me, the 'aha' moment was when I starting looking at my daughter's picture books after having learnt so much during this course. I feel like I'm seeing these much-loved stories in a whole new way with new-found appreciation.

I'd just like to say a very big Thank You to the team at the Australian Writers' Centre and especially to my lovely tutor Cathie Tasker. I thoroughly enjoyed the Writing Picture Books course and I look forward to putting what I've learnt into creating wonderful stories for children. Thanks again!

I highly recommend the Australian Writers' Centre to anyone who has an interest in writing and would love to take their writing to the next level!

I really enjoyed this course. It has helped shape the way I approach writing picture books and I felt I learned enough to give me more confidence with my ideas.

Cathie was helpful and very knowledgeable. I appreciate all her feedback and have taken everything she said and worked with it.

I loved challenging myself and writing a new story each week.

Ten years ago I wrote a YA novel. And a few years ago I started to learn the craft of script writing. But I have always wanted to learn how to write picture books. We, as a family, have had a very rough recent few years and I completely lost myself. I had thought I would probably never pick up writing again. So it took a lot of courage for me to sign up to this course but I knew that I had to do this to make that one positive change in my life. And without sounding ridiculous, I have truly found my 'happy' again. There is nothing I love more than writing and this course has given me a new and wonderful focus.

Do it. If you really love writing and you say this is what you want to do, then do it properly and learn from someone who can actually guide you.

I would like to say thank you. This has been a wonderful experience for me.

I'd been thinking about doing this course for some time. A friend had done it and raved about it. Then a particular story idea came up and I thought it was a good time to get on with the course.

My eyes have been opened to the many and varied contributing factors that make great picture books such a multi-layered and deceptively simple art form. The course is incredibly thorough and I know I will return to the audio modules again over this coming year as I continue to develop the stories I have begun. So the course is great value for money too!

Suzanne provides excellent feedback. She has real passion for children's picture books, a wealth of knowledge and excellent attention to detail.

I learnt SO much. I now realize just how basic my understanding of picture books was. Writing a children's picture book is no small task. It requires a ton of patience, determination and time. 'Time is your friend' is a line that will stay with me... If I want to do it properly I need to learn to take my time. - Big lesson for me!

Whatever you want to write about, Australian Writers' Centre will have a course for you and I guarantee it will be not only be top quality but great value.

Well done on delivering yet another fabulous course!

Suzanne's approach was gentle but direct, which I found to be extremely helpful. As a beginner writer it can be daunting exposing your work to scrutiny but Suzanne was great in providing creative criticism and insightful suggestions.

Every module had something new and built on previous lessons. I most enjoyed seeing how, by implementing those lessons, my writing/story improved and developed.

This is the first writing course I have enrolled in. It has given me an intro into the industry but mostly I feel like with work and persistence I may have something I can build on.

Go for it! The course content for a beginner is comprehensive, easy to understand and follow. The feedback from the tutor (Suzanne in my case) is constructive and detailed. It's a great launching pad into understanding the world of children's picture book writing.

I really enjoyed the course and looking forward to developing my writing.

I have been working on a story that I have tried to get published and wanted to hone the story to hopefully have more success with publication.

I found the feedback from Suzanne valuable and feel that I know what to work on to make my stories suitable for publication. I have learned a lot in this course and know what to work on in the future.

I would recommend this course to anyone who is starting out writing children's books. It provides excellent grounding in the essentials.

I am now 54 and have not undertaken any creative writing since leaving secondary school. I have, however, spent a bit of time contemplating children's story ideas as I move through life. I don't know why but one morning I decided to seek out a course and I was fortunate to have found this one. I didn't really know how much I didn't know about children's books.

I love that you have access to the materials for a year as I intend to revisit the material a few more times.

I liked that the feedback was constructive and truthful (at least I hope that's the case). All the feedback I found encouraging and emphasized the importance of reviewing your work and reworking it.

I now feel that I have the skills to rework my original ideas and transform them into something more powerful and polished.

I have always thought about writing a children's book but just didn't know the exact process. I have been looking at this course for over a year now and very keen to complete it. So finally found the extra time and thought why not? :)

I really enjoyed the way the course was structured. I thought it took me through the process step by step instead of lots of information all at once.

I thought the tutor was fantastic! Really responsive and appreciated all of her constructive feedback! Feedback was always delivered as a learning opportunity.

I enjoyed how it motivated me each week to keep developing my ideas.

Thank you for a great course! Extremely worthwhile if you have been toying with the idea of writing!