What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Pamela's brilliant!

I've been inspired and so encouraged by the feedback I've received. Especially when the feedback pointed out flaws or weak spots.

You just can't go wrong with an AWC course. They want you to succeed, and go out of their way to ensure you do.

Thank you!

What attracted me to this course was the goal of reaching 20,000 words, as well as getting the chance to have others review my work in a safe space. Workshopping was always a point of fear for me, but the tutor and the students provided a great environment for everyone to be helped with honest and useful feedback.

Petronella was always very kind and on point with her feedback. She raised great questions that got me into a better frame of mind with my novel and my characters. The fact that there was a video of Petronella's feedback (in addition to the detailed written feedback, of course) made the course a bit more personal and enjoyable for me.

The tutors are very knowledgeable and kind, experienced in the industry.

I love these courses! I appreciated being treated fairly and taken seriously.

Even though I'd read great reviews about how important the feedback aspect of the course was - I was still not prepared for how much I got out of it. I enjoyed reading other people's work and feedback, and Bernadette gave insightful and useful feedback to all the writing samples.

It has helped me form consistent writing habits and read more analytically.

Constructive feedback from other writers is priceless. I also loved the audios and look forward to listening to them again over the next 12 months.

The Australian Writers' Centre can give you the tools you need to start your writing journey. It can also travel part of the road with you.

I thought Petronella gave a huge amount of insightful individual feedback which gave the course more depth than I'd expected. I enjoyed reading other's comments on my work. Am now at 50k words and have good direction.

I think there is a lot of information hidden in the audios which I have yet to (re) discover - just need the time to go through all the lessons again.

Great value course that will get you writing regularly and with direction.

I enjoyed Creative Writing Stage 1 and was motivated to continue on my writing journey with AWC.

I was so impressed with Bernadette's knowledge and professional feedback. She was so helpful with her comments and encouraged students to ask questions if they needed any clarification. I feel very lucky to have had her as our online tutor.

I really enjoyed reading and providing feedback on the other students' work. There were so many great stories amongst the group, lovely writers and lovely people.

I have a lot more to learn AND a lot to work on, but I feel more confident now that my story is one worth writing and may be of interest to others to read.

I would say that if you want to get moving on a story you have in your head, enrol in this course. It will give you the motivation to start making your dream a reality, and you'll meet some amazing like-minded people along the way.

I loved reading everyone's work and getting feedback. My writing buddies were very encouraging and kind. My online tutor gave helpful feedback, and she was encouraging.

Before, publishing my story was just a vague dream, although I have written many words. This course gave me the tools to edit and improve my writing.

The tutor was great - personable, empathetic, gave helpful practical tips and ideas.

I enjoyed the audio lessons. Such useful material and delivered in a very professional and humorous, relatable way.

It's given me the confidence and structure I needed to move forward to the next level.

I was given a voucher for my birthday. This was just the nudge I needed to take my dream seriously, and take steps to write my novel. The timing also worked well for the start of my year.

Petronella was incredibly encouraging. She was able to carefully critique and lightly suggest, without taking away from the original idea or intent of the writer. I think she set the tone for a kind, uplifting and thorough group when it came to giving feedback.

I enjoyed both sides of the feedback process the most and reading other people's synopsis and submissions.

Just want to thank Petronella again for her kind encouragement. Petronella, our group benefited from your knowledge and suggestions for improving our plots, characters and scenes. You set the tone for this group of writers, who also became cheerleaders for each other. How unique! Thank you!

I was able to write 30,000 words of my novel. There is simply no way I would have done that without this course. Being almost halfway through my first draft feels pretty incredible.

If you're looking for accountability to your goals, encouragement for your craft and a knowledgeable guide from inside the industry, Novel Writing Essentials is for you!

I wanted some guidance on writing a novel as I had never attempted a long piece of writing before. I thought some help on structure would be good.

Cathie was great. She gave very considered feedback and tips on what to look out for and how to improve.

This course forced me to make decisions that I had been putting off - just little things like my character's name and the plot! I now feel much more confident that I will finish the novel I'm writing. I'm not totally sure what the final plot will look like but I'm a lot closer now than before.

The AWC is very professional, very collegial, very much worth doing a course with.

It was invaluable to have a professional of Cathie Tasker's calibre on hand through this process. Terrifying, but invaluable. Cathie is friendly and approachable.

Over the 10 weeks, a real dynamic and connection was made between the class members. I hadn't really expected that. Being in a like-minded, respectful space.

For me, every module contained an ‘aha' moment. Now, it's my aim to fully understand, and apply these. Apart from the obvious educational angle of the writing craft, the process has ignited a passion greater than I was aware was there.

AWC offers an incredible resource of industry talent, combined with solid educational content, professional courses and access to so much more.

Thank you for the inspiration. Now, I only hope I have the ability to turn a dream into a reality.

I enjoyed meeting new people; their feedback was so helpful. I did not realize there was so much to think of when writing and this course has help me get started and now I am 64,000 words in.

It has given me confidence and the feeling that "yes, I can do this."

If you want to write a novel, AWC courses will get you started and provide encouragement and constructive feedback.

I had an idea for a middle grade novel, which I started writing. Not having written a novel before, I felt that this course would be very helpful in getting my first draft started.

It made me stick to a writing schedule. I felt motivated and I enjoyed the workshopping. The tutor was very knowledgeable and more than happy to provide extra feedback when requested.

Worth every cent! I am now determined to continue writing my middle grade novel.

Cathie was excellent. She offered detailed feedback and explained the reasons for her comments, which has helped me learn to write better.

The workshopping and the tutor feedback were invaluable. Gives me yet more impetus to keep writing with the advice and feedback I need to do it better.

I enjoyed reading Cathie's comments and suggestions, not just for my work but for other students. If she made similar comments to me, I felt I was on the right track. When Cathie made suggestions, I made the necessary changes and it improved my writing

I really loved the audio, and will replay the modules for a 'booster' during the next few months. I enjoyed reading other people's work, irrespective of genre, and agree that workshopping their writing improved my own.

The course has given me the self-confidence that I initially lacked, and it has motivated me to continue writing, even though I am aware it may take years to reach my goal.

Do it! I have already recommended AWC to a couple of friends toying with the idea of writing a novel or memoir, and given examples of how I feel the courses have helped me.

Cathie is so detailed in her feedback, I read all of them, not just my own because there was so much to learn from the other students' work as well.

I enjoyed finding writers working in a similar or the same genre as myself. It was so comforting to know I wasn't alone on this mad journey, and reading their stories now as they too tried to find their feet with it was a huge help with me beating back my own self-doubts.

By week 3 I had hit my 20K word goal.

If writing is what you want to do, but you have no idea how to start, you need AWC.

An excellent program, well-structured and narrated.

There was so much information available to help understand the technical side of writing and the implications of those elements on the writing itself. Despite being a prolific reader, I'd not looked at it quite this way. Nothing was new, and yet when outlined, everything was new!

If you want to understand how to maximise your writing, do this course.

It was genuinely lovely to engage with everyone in the class and our tutor. The audio lessons contained solid technical writing advice and were also easy to listen to, in the manner of a podcast.

Bernadette was very warm and engaging, whether in the Zoom sessions, in her audio feedback or in the course chat. She provided great advice on things to improve and it was very lovely to hear her appreciation of my work as well.

It was a highlight to see people engaging with my story. Having my character and story be 'real' outside my head : )

The course gave direct things to action, such as how to set writing time and how to technically improve things in writing. It also provided stories from authors to give an encouraging view of the writing journey which certainly encouraged me to keep going.

If you want some solid things to improve in your writing and have a solid novel opening/synopsis, give this course a go. You will receive not one, but a number of feedbacks on your work, including from an industry expert. And it's all in a friendly group setting.

Bernadette was very knowledgeable and shared her knowledge willingly. Her feedback was always considered and backed by her wealth of experience.

The course has made me even more determined to follow my goal of being published one day.

This course is like caffeine to the creative process. It stimulates the creative process. The course material and Bernadette's (the tutor) feedback and the workshopping stimulates and aids creativity.

Bernadette is great. She is considerate and sensitive but also delivers the medicine required to make you better. I felt she had a genuine interest in helping me. I wish I could keep her :) A teacher is one who encourages and challenges - yep, Bernadette is great.

I enjoyed all the course material; it was well-presented and very helpful. Workshopping is brilliant and very valuable and helpful. I would have to say though most enjoyable was tutor feedback from Bernadette; you can't go past expert guidance!

I want to keep writing! My goal is to get as much of my first draft done so I can then enrol in the Write Your Novel course. Then it will be onto the editing course and so on. I will not stop until I have a polished manuscript to present to a publisher! Even then I will keep writing!

Thank you AWC for the learning opportunity. Thank you Bernadette for sharing your wisdom, expertise and guidance.

If you want to write then the AWC will help you begin and to go on and on and on :)

I had completed Creative Writing Stage 1 and I knew I needed more direction in piecing together the novel that had been floating about in my mind. Novel Writing Essentials was the logical next step.

I was a little nervous about what would be expected during the course and how my novice words would be received but I was pleasantly surprised by how much this course has encouraged me to keep writing.

Angela was great. Incredibly knowledgeable and generous with her feedback and the resources she provided.

I loved learning about plotting and structure and finally putting my words out there and not being laughed out of the room - ha! I also loved reading other students' stories - so much creativity.

It's given me the tools to finally plot and structure the novel I had been thinking about for years. I could finally see what it could potentially look like from start to finish. The feedback I received has also encouraged me to keep writing and has shown me that I have a story that could actually work.

One hundred percent, do the course! AWC is fantastic. They make writing a novel actually seem possible and give you all the tools to make it happen.

Loved it. Thank you :)