What’s it like to learn with AWC?

To have a professional edit your work is priceless and I appreciate the way in which Alex delivered the feedback on the tasks each week. She delivered thorough feedback, gave examples of what could be tweaked and suggested areas for improvement. Thank you Alex for your time and attention to detail.

I enjoyed the course overall. I'm motivated by weekly tasks and I liked that we had feedback in real time. The handouts were helpful and the encouragement from the classmates was great.

It's given me the courage and the tools to venture out and 'put my name out there' to have an article(s) published.

Take a course, upskill, learning will always get you closer to your goal and through AWC you can connect with so many people who want you to succeed.

It is clear that Vivienne works very hard and wants to provide course participants with as much support as she can. Her feedback is prompt, detailed and constructive. She made herself available in course chat throughout the month and responded to everyone who asked her questions. There isn't a hint of snobbery about her, and she clearly wanted to get to know her participants so she could tailor her advice to their needs. She is approachable, genuine and clearly very knowledgeable. She is an absolute asset to AWC, that is for sure!

While I am not much of a 'chat contributor,' I really enjoyed that this course seemed to attract people from all over the country. Everyone was friendly and supportive of one another's contributions and assignments, which made the whole experience feel less intimidating. There wasn't a hint of competitiveness or one-upmanship. Refreshing.

Writing opinion pieces is a fantastic way to work out how you really feel about a topic - you might discover your opinion changes mid-way through writing a piece as you research and unearth new information. A really active way to educate yourself on a topic and learn (and retain!!!) new information.

I regularly recommend AWC. Course content is always of high quality, tutors are knowledgeable, and having access to the material after the course is finished allows you to dip and dive back into it when you need it most.

This course was a new experience for me and I did not know what to expect. I hoped I would learn new skills and insights. These modest expectations were met in spades.

I was impressed with the time Vivienne spent giving detailed and helpful feedback to us all.

Apart from the content and course structure, which I thought was excellent, the noticeboards provided a good clearing house for questions, thoughts and ideas. This made all participants feel part of a group and by the end of four weeks I felt that I had met a dozen more people.

It was the technical structure of good opinion writing that was my special moment. Until now I have been writing by the seat of my pants.

Pamela has both a broad and detailed insight into writing, which spans all genres. Her feedback was measured and focused, and I particularly liked how she made comments which were applicable to the wider group not just the writer whose work she was critiquing at the time.

Start with Creative Writing Stage 1 before you get too deep into writing your novel (wish someone had said that to me!)

I found the information insightful and the exercises (both the assignments and the optional ones) very well thought out.

Pamela is very personable and generous. It's a tricky fine line between being encouraging to such newbies and pointing out some of our areas that need improvement.

I enjoyed being able to actually have someone else read my writing. I'm also very grateful for the (optional) exercises.

Having feedback has given me some confidence. The message to just keep writing and get a first draft done has allowed me to pull out my first attempt and continue.

Thank you and well done to those with such creative drive and generosity to build the Australian Writers' Centre over a number of years. Wonderful!

Nat was wonderful. She gave good insightful feedback that was both constructive and supportive, but also did not hesitate to point out parts of our work that we could/should improve.

I challenged myself to write new content for each assignment, and put into practice the little things we had learnt through the module, instead of just writing what I thought I knew and was capable/good at.

I will definitely continue on this path and keep going. I look forward to uncovering and sharing the books I know live within me.

Absolutely, give it a go. You'll find out if this is something you want to pursue or not by the end. And if it's not something for you to follow, you'll still enjoy the journey the course provides you.

Looking forward to taking the next step forward in getting the words out of my head, and into a book. Next course definitely on the cards!

Love the smiling presenter and how encouraging she is in all the modules. Excellent information and presentation. Thank you!

Writing stories for publication is one thing, the other is how to make it known in an efficient medium through social media.

Highly recommended for anyone who's writing to get published and ideas on how to go about constructing an author website. Absolutely jam-packed with information and pathways to make it happen!

I learned so much! I admit that I did not appreciate the technical precision and sparkle required for a truly wonderful children's picture book.

Cathie had great feedback. It was clear yet supportive. The class feedback and the individual feedback was valuable.

It has made me understand the magic of picture books and has inspired me to keep writing and perhaps work together with my sister.

AWC was a great way to learn more about the whole life-cycle of writing a children's picture book - the technical drafting side, the sparkle, the teamwork required. The commitment to enrol gave me the motivation to write again.

Loved it! Thank you for providing me the tools to move forward with more confidence.

The combination of the templates, examples, and videos provided a great understanding of each module.

I've just finished it so it's still early days, but it did already provide me with some inspiration on how to structure the new blog posts we're planning on writing/what content to include and in what way to present it.

While not exactly applicable to my current job, it was great to see how to properly present an 'event wrap-up' text. I've never really given it that much thought and am now actually considering reading more of them/maybe writing some of my own after attending an event...

The AWC provides clear, easy to follow courses that nicely introduced me to content writing. The course I followed was short but full of information, which provided me with a better grip on the subject. I'd be happy to follow more and would recommend it to those who would like to improve their writing skills.

I was attracted to the challenge of writing for thirty days, motivating me to set a time to write with daily goals and having a substantial body of work at the end.

I enjoyed the daily tasks and challenges and the motivational messages.

It gave me the opportunity to write, to explore new topics and themes and I had the satisfaction of completing each day's task.

The 30-day Bootcamp would be an ideal way to start writing. It gives you a handy and manageable way to start writing, with hints and tips along the way. For more experienced writers, it provides set tasks and goals to help to realise your writing goals.

I was attracted to the course because it was only four weeks and now I feel disappointed that it is over!

Vivienne Pearson is incredibly supportive and kind with her time and comments. I enjoyed being able to interact with her in the course chat, and the interviews with other writers. There is one interview for each module. Three of the writers were AWC Opinion Writing graduates so that is very inspiring.

I'm using Scrivener to write a memoir for somebody and I knew I was working too hard and too slowly in the program.

I enjoyed seeing how the course was used in an actual manuscript, and the thrilling moment of understanding how I could organise my material and finally start to shape it into a book.

I feel much more capable of actually writing this book now. It made me realise that I already have a first draft in the form of transcribed interviews, I just need to shape that and rewrite it into a narrative that works on the page and is compelling.

I realised how I can organise my material faster, and better, so that it's actually functional and understandable and not a fat hot mess of too much.

I have already recommended this course to another friend who also has the Scrivener software but knows she is not using it to capacity. I told her: this will change the way you look at your manuscript and the way you rewrite it. (She has a first draft)

I am writing the (very messy) middle of my manuscript right now and I thought it would be good to have some foundational advice in mind while I worked through it and again when I edit.

The reference to the handouts made the seminar even more applicable as I could follow along and relate each point to my story plot/subplots.

It gave me the grounding to navigate each plot point and see if it's happening in the right spot. I know this will help with my pacing.

This is the practical stuff you need to know - it goes beyond forming beautiful words and sentences to explaining how to craft something great, that will entertain publishers and readers. Plus reminds us to finish!

I enjoyed the templates, how simple you've made it, the shortness of the course, and the bonus modules.

Great to have some structured templates to speed up the writing process.

Great courses and resources, good value for money.

I was unsure where to begin with editing my manuscript and hoped that this course would point me in the right direction.

I like that the editing process was broken down into manageable steps which made it not feel so overwhelming. Also, the checklist was a handy reference and I loved that I could mark off the steps I completed as I went.

I feel like I have made some good changes in my manuscript as a result of going through this process.

The Key Issues and Changes List has been life-changing and I have used it so much as I work through my manuscript. I like having all my required notes and changes in one place and I can't believe that such a simple tool makes a huge difference.

I wanted to know if I was on the right path with the formation of my book. I now have the tools I need. The path has been cleared so that I can weave my tale and bring my story to life.

Clear concise communication with wonderful examples. Very enjoyable course.

I have been dabbling in creative writing for the last year or so and wanted to take the next steps in my writing journey. This seemed like the perfect jumping-off point!

I put it off for a while because of my own personal worries. I didn't think I'd have enough time in the week to commit to the work, but this is exactly what I needed! I loved that I could do the materials at my own pace, and I loved the extra exercises and handouts, information I will definitely be able to take with me.

Jennifer was lovely and warm, very insightful and provided some wonderful comments and extremely helpful feedback.

In every lesson, I learned something new. A new writing term or a style of writing I hadn't heard before. I've been writing largely in fanfiction with characters that already exist, so even just reframing my thinking around characters is a game-changer.

I had such a great time! Now I'm trying to work out which course I want to do next!

If you are looking to kickstart your writing journey, this is the place to do it.

Mark was kind and informative in his feedback videos. He always focused on the positives and sandwiched any constructive feedback.

I enjoyed completing the assignments and listening to the assignment feedback - it was a good opportunity to test the waters and learn the basics.

It is an easy, pleasant course that doesn't require much of your time (for me, approx. 3 hours per week). The assignments are very small, manageable and well explained, so nothing felt overwhelming. It has opened a door for me to explore copywriting as a career / side job.

Like all the other courses I've done, it's great. I like that it's in smaller chunks, making it easier to contemplate and absorb, and then apply to my writing.

I enjoyed the actionable aspects. i.e. colour-coding the elements of scenes, matching scenes to story questions by colouring. My manuscript is a WIP but I'm listing my scenes to check on variety. When I come to my second edit, I'll be colour-coding elements in scenes for the trickier ones.

Great courses! Very practical.

I enjoyed learning about insights into internal obstacles within characters and how these can be used to drive the plot. It has given me some fresh angles to ponder.

Definitely give it a shot; the AWC offers so many different ways to explore writing techniques.