What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Victoria was great! Her feedback was very helpful, constructive yet encouraging.

I am far more motivated to keep learning and improving!

I would say it's a great course that imposes structure, teaches you the fundamentals in an approachable way, and actually gets you writing (which is the most important thing!)

Loved it, thank you!

I thought Pamela was outstanding! She is perfect at critiquing. I loved this course. I can't thank you enough.

Pamela has a gift! She gave it to our whole group. She was able to seamlessly talk to each person about their writing with the perfect amount of nurture and critique with a touch of confidence.

I found having a timeframe really important. I enjoyed workshopping so much more than I ever imagined. I am so surprised at my own growth.

This course gave me permission to write.

My breakthrough was the resistance I felt before each submission and I pushed through and did it anyway. The 'aha' is knowing that the amount of resistance means something great is about to be told.

If you have the slightest inkling 'DO IT!' then you know. Once you see you can't unsee.

Victoria was great and I really appreciated her honest feedback.

I had not thought to create such deep profiles of my characters, but it really helped me to work out the characters I was writing about.

I now know I can write a story, and I can enjoy the journey.

Just do it; its quality time spent on yourself.

I had never written a chapter book and now I have a first draft completed.

This course motivated me to take the first steps towards my dream of being a children's author.

I have completed some non-fiction courses (mainly for my work-related writing) but always felt drawn to exploring fiction. I knew Creative Writing Stage 1 was the course to do first, to learn the foundations then go on from there.

I feel the course has really been very thoughtfully crafted so that the foundational skills of creative writing are covered well. I really feel like I have developed the foundations now and can confidently go on to do other courses in the order suggested by AWC.

Victoria has a very warm and engaging style and I almost feel in a way like we were chatting live. Her video feedback was valuable, both her encouragement and also her tips for improvement, very sensitively and thoughtfully delivered.

I was excited on Monday mornings! The moment I woke up I was so keen to look at what the week had in store - the audio lessons from Val, the worksheets, exercises and assignment. Carving out time to plough on with the work and feeling really energised. I'm going to miss it and my classmates who have also been actively engaged in reading each other's writing and providing feedback

It has made me want to pursue creative writing and keep on writing, developing skills and improving. I know there might be times it will feel like a hard slog but knowing that I'm part of a supportive community of writers is a great comfort and benefit of AWC.

If you're creative, love words and have ever wondered if you'd enjoy writing, you should do one of the AWC courses. You will definitely learn and appreciate how stories and books are created and understand writing as a craft. The courses are so thoughtfully put together and the AWC community so supportive, you won't regret enrolling.

Thank you so much AWC for another great course experience.

I wanted to focus on my fiction writing skills and get feedback from a tutor, and other students. I was drawn to the course specifically because Victoria Purman was the tutor. I wanted to learn from her experience and now I have!

I have studied fiction writing for a long time now and worked with a number of different teachers, so I wasn't sure if it would add much to what I've already learned, but I'm pleased to say I learned many new things, and I solidified my fiction writing even more because I enrolled in this course.

Gosh, there's so much to love in this course. Victoria Purman is a gem, and I loved the way she gave feedback. She is kind and honest. She is inspiring and insightful on what works and what isn't quite working. Victoria delivers her feedback with compassion and that's so important to us vulnerable writers. I appreciated all of Victoria's efforts in tutoring us in this course. I hope to do more study with her in the future.

Enrolling in Creative Writing Stage 1 was one of the best decisions I made. It helped solidify all the previous things I'd learned about the foundation of writing fiction, narrative structure, characters with stakes and more. I'd say, 'Don't be afraid to try creative writing. If this is in your heart to do, then learn with Australian Writers' Centre because it's a safe place to learn and grow as a fiction writer.'

It's an excellent course with lots to offer the beginner and the writer with experience. We're always learning, no matter how much we've studied and every teacher has something to offer creative writers. I'm so glad I finally (after about five years of being indecisive about doing this course) did Creative Writing Stage 1.

I felt this course was jam-packed with information, and I will have to go back and process all of it. I thought it was well put together!

I loved all the pieces and how they were broken down into different categories.

I loved the exercises, placing myself in jail and writing about my observations. This is not easy to do.

I have taken several courses with the AWC and learned something new every time. It is well worth it to take the class and see what happens. Just give it a shot.

The course was far more valuable than I expected. Clear, concise, articulate yet easy to absorb. Cleared any weak points in my writing.

I enjoyed the tutor and her style of teaching.

A must do course for any copywriter.

I enjoyed the focus on both true crime and crime fiction. The writing exercises and some of the links were fascinating (and disturbing too!)

Go for it! You never know what you might find.

The research resources modules far exceeded my expectations. I thought I was pretty good at doing research, but this was awesome and I was able to resolve some of my research dilemmas as a result. I found new resources, and joined two new online organisations to find more information.

No matter what stage you're at in your writing, you'll find a course that can help you in some way - learning the craft, motivation and inspiration, and meeting others at a similar stage to you. Just get on with it and do it.

I felt that all the topics and ideas presented in the short story course were clearly communicated, and the links made between the modules were sound and logical.

I enjoyed the warmth of the narrator of this course. It engaged me and maintained my interest. I was also impressed by the resources that went along with each of the modules. The range of examples provided, which amplified the points made, were easy to follow and learn from for my own writing.

Short Story Essentials is a comprehensive and detailed course. It is not overwhelming because the way the course is constructed leaves ample room for feeling guided and supported every step of the way. In the end, I have gained a greater level of confidence and faith in my writing skills, in having completed the course.

Thank you for a well-crafted course that has done so much in providing me the skills and techniques to keep on striving to become a better short story writer, now and into the future.

This course really provided a step by step on how to get started. I thought it was excellent.

Everything I was learning was relevant and the assignments were taking us through the steps we needed to learn to go out and be freelance writers. I enjoyed seeing what other people were writing and seeing how they were approaching their assignments. I also enjoyed the interview!

Alex's comments were always positive and insightful.

I know if I want to get started I have enough tools to 'have a go'. It's no longer a mystery.

Professional advice from professionals, presented in easily consumable pieces that are current and relevant. You won't get better writing courses in Australia.

Thankyou Valerie and Alex!

Carli was informative and helpful at every stage of this program. Her calm and approachable nature made her easy to talk to and I felt comfortable asking questions.

I found this whole course enjoyable. I particularly liked the readings and examples that were provided in the reader. I also enjoyed listening to Carli's firsthand experience as a successful food writer and the little stories she would pepper into the lesson.

The pitch email writing lesson was very eye opening and really cleared up a lot of questions that I had about pitching ideas to magazines etc. I now have a much clearer understanding on what is expected of a good writer and what the industry looks like as a whole.

The course is short but impactful. The vibe of the course was relaxing and was not stressful or daunting like some online classes can be.

A big shoutout to Carli for sharing her own personal experiences as a food writer. Her stories and anecdotes were fun and informative. She made sure to not pressure us and took it nice and slow to ensure we were getting all the information we needed.

Carla was so positive and friendly with her responses. All her suggestions were useful and provided food for thought. It was useful to watch the feedback for every writer because I learned lots from each bit of feedback.

The course content was very informative and useful, but putting it into practice and getting feedback on it was invaluable. Plus I loved reading the other stories too, so that was fun. I also appreciated the examples of how a middle grade book and writing for children differ from writing for adults or young adults.

This course was easy to follow. It had lots of useful handouts, forms, and exercises to improve my writing. There are lots of tips for writing for children that are very relevant and useful. Our tutor, Carla, was always kind and friendly with the feedback on assignments, which made it less stressful when submitting them. Sharing work can sometimes be scary, but Carla made it a safe space.

I was really pleased I did this course. Although some of the information provided were things I'd already learned from other AWC courses, I still found this course really useful due to the focus on the younger reader.

It sparks the joy of writing in me and makes me want to pick up my pen again. It has made me think about my characters in new ways which I am sure will have a positive impact on my storytelling.

I enjoyed being prompted to think more clearly about the way I write my novel. I can now see the obvious way to improve my story. I'll be revising this course a few more times. After the first two modules, especially, I wanted to run straight to my story and fix it. But I think I have a few more mistakes to work through before I get it right.

I have enjoyed the longer courses I have done with AWC, especially since I did not begin as a writer. But their shorter courses (eg. POV) help me to slow down to take in information that I haven't always understood the first time around.

Coming from a professional writing background, I have learned that I need to adopt a totally different writing style for feature articles. I feel more skilled and enthusiastic to pick up my blog that I've abandoned and also empowered to write for areas of interest to publications.

As a busy working mum, it was an easy to complete course with really helpful insights on not only how to write, but how to pitch articles and get published.

I love reading romances so wanted to look at how to write them!

I wasn't sure romance was a genre I wanted to really write in, but the great thing about this course is that it has a lot of information that can be applicable to other genres.

I enjoyed all the bonus interviews and inspiration from successful romance writers.

I now know what is needed in a romance story and feel like I could dip my toe in and give it a go.

All of the AWC courses I have done have been interesting, informative and inspiring. It is obvious that they are there to help you be successful and that is a really nice feeling.

It made sense, and I loved the information about backstory. As Pamela was talking I could see my villain come to life.

I now have a very clear picture of my villain in my mind. Before this session I just couldn't get my head around him. So the session exceeded my expectations.

If you're stuck, or not writing, I would encourage you to do a course with the AWC... you will be writing again in no time.

Pamela's style is pleasant and encouraging, as well as informative. I always come away thinking 'yeah, I can do this,' as well as picking up some practical tips.

The general approach to developing the antagonist is something that I think will improve my story.

Two key take aways for me, that I hadn't considered previously, are (a) the difference between an antagonist and a character who is simply unpleasant or nasty and (b) the different ways of thinking about the personal and the impersonal antagonist.

The courses I've done with the AWC have all helped me improve my writing. The advice is practical, giving you scope to dive deeper into a particular aspect when needed.