Sue Oliver 1 year ago

The feedback from other students as well as the tutor was really great. The feedback from everyone was inspiring. The tutor was very knowledgeable and relatable. Provided great insights and information.

Really excellent courses and tutors. Worth every cent.

Danielle Toffoli 1 year ago

I wanted to make sure my story was off to a good start and that it was something people would be interested to read.

I had taken a long break from writing and was not sure if I was ready to jump into a course like this, or if I needed to give myself time to get back into a routine first.

Angela was incredibly helpful and generous with her comments and the resources she shared with the group. Her feedback was always insightful and she always asked questions which got me and my classmates to think a bit more deeply about our work - once I get through to my next draft there will be a lot to incorporate and hopefully make my story better!

I loved reading everyone else's amazing submissions and getting to read things that I would not normally read - we had such great writers in our group! Receiving feedback on my own work was scary but it helped me to see what people liked about my novel and where there were opportunities to improve.

I'm inspired to keep going and get to The End. I now have a routine and a weekly word count goal and I have proven to myself that I can do it - no more excuses!

I think after I submitted my first piece and read the comments from my classmates and tutors, I had a moment of "Oh, they liked it! I should keep going!" and that has spurred me on to keep writing and get to the end.

I have done a couple of courses through AWC now and I have always found them to be very inspiring with great course material and wonderful, helpful tutors. My advice would be if you want to get your story off to a good start and learn some fundamentals of writing along the way, then Novel Writing Essentials is perfect for you.

Sue Oliver 1 year ago

I wanted to learn more and also wanted the discipline that taking a course would impose on my writing. Angela's reputation and abilities as a tutor were a deciding factor also.

The comments and information from Angela Slatter were really helpful. The feedback not only from the tutor but from others on the course was a lot more helpful than I realised it would be before the course began. I haven't done a course with feedback like that before and had no idea how useful it would be.

I have been very disciplined about my writing and have really progressed my novel over the weeks. The feedback has helped me expand my thinking about plot, characters and structure especially and has been really great.

Angela Slatter talked about how she splits her novel into four sections and uses that to guide her writing. Structure is something I have (and still) struggle with. I found by splitting the book into four and using the main structure points as waypoints then writing the chapters that led from a to b to c to d it helped enormously to not only get the work done, but to have a much clearer path on how to get it done. It's helped my writing enormously.

Great courses. Great teachers. You might think the courses are expensive but they're worth every penny. You get what you pay for.

The whole thing was a really enjoyable experience and I'm glad I did it.

Damien Hickman 1 year ago

Angela gives great feedback and always finds extra information that is helpful. Her advice is practical and straight-forward. Brilliant.

I enjoyed the weekly lessons and learning additional skills about writing. I picked up a lot of things to look out for in my own writing by reading others and this will be helpful.

Novel Writing Essentials is the perfect follow on from Creative Writing Stage 1 and will take your writing to the next level.

Brenda Wraight 1 year ago

The tutor was thorough, clearly very skilled as a writer and as a tutor, honed in on important aspects of the piece, and her guidance has helped me be a stronger writer already.

The course itself is excellent. I enjoyed reading other stories - inspired to read different genres.

Do it! I have already recommended AWC to several people and will continue to do so. I researched writing courses before connecting AWC and my decision has not been questioned. Keep up the great work! I am going to enrol in Write Your Novel as well as other shorter courses.

Jan Samuels 1 year ago

Jenny was thorough and helpful with her feedback and suggestions. I valued her input, and feel my story was stronger from what I learned. Reading Jenny's feedback to other students was equally as valuable.

I enjoyed the interaction with other students, and the opportunity to read and comment on a wide range of genres. It was great! The timeframes were a bit challenging for me, and I did not make the word count goal I set, but I'm carrying on with renewed enthusiasm.

I'm energised and happy with the way my story is progressing, and I met some really interesting people. Some of us have decided to keep supporting each other after the course finishes.

Great value, excellent content, credible tutors - just go for it.

Rachael 1 year ago

Pamela was an outstanding tutor. She was highly professional, gave clear and specific feedback and shared a wealth of knowledge and experience. I not only learnt a great deal from her about the craft of writing, but I finished the course feeling highly motivated, with a swag of practical advice that is really helping me to improve and progress my first draft.

I not only enjoyed the content of the modules, but getting to know the work of other participants through workshopping. It was motivating to feel part of a group of workshopping writers.

I have done a number of other writing courses, including some well-known courses in the UK. But this was the first time I felt that I was learning the practical writing skills I needed to improve and progress my writing, and to approach the process of fiction writing with more confidence. It has grounded my creativity in real skills and given me the tools to start developing an effective writing practice to get me to a finished novel manuscript.

I would highly recommend the AWC to friends and colleagues, particularly because of its focus on practical writing skills and process.

Jessica Sanford 1 year ago

What spurred me to try the course was that I was stuck with how to progress from the ten or so thousand words I had written.

Jenny was fantastic. I gained a lot from her feedback - in fact I think it was invaluable! I thought her style of how she gave the feedback was really good too - e.g very positive, friendly and motivating. Even when giving feedback about things that needed work, Jenny said it in a motivating and uplifting way. Really good for new writers (all writers?!) I think!

I think this course has made my writing journey more of a reality because I can see the path laid out more clearly. I now have a more solid understanding of what I actually need to do to get those words on the page.

I'd recommend this course for sure. I'd say that you will finish with an actual toolkit to use to finish your manuscript. And a community to support you.

Just a huge thank you and I hope to be involved with AWC going forward!

Lauren 1 year ago

I thought the course was fantastic. The level of concise technical detail is presented and delivered so well. Its focus on the step-by-step practicalities making up the bulk of the content along with the broader concepts was balanced perfectly in my opinion.

It was the first time sharing my work with others which was really daunting. I've always drawn and designed worlds and cultures and made up stories in my head. But to bring this world and a new story to others for the first time and see people getting enjoyment from it has been wonderful. I hope one day more people will enjoy reading this story.

I thought Jennifer was very knowledgeable and I greatly respect her expertise in this field. I was keen to work with her as I knew she wrote in Speculative Fiction. I really liked that she could pinpoint what areas were working or not and why and the technical solutions of fixing those issues. This was truly invaluable.

Overall, I thought she balanced her critical feedback along with encouragement wonderfully as that is so important for people just starting out like myself. It has certainly helped me believe that I can indeed tackle this novel that I've set out to write.

Really I just think it has given me the skills to achieve what I've set out to do with my novel. I wouldn't have learned enough of the technical skills without training and on my own. It was exciting to hear I actually have something that other people would really like to read, rather than just an amusement for myself in my own head hahaha.

I would highly recommend it for both beginner to even to more experienced writers.

Maddy Lansdown 1 year ago

I was just drawn to it as I was writing a novel but was stuck. I thought the info and the workshopping with other authors would help me, which it has. My only hesitation was would I have the time. I did and by making the time it helped to keep to a deadline. I will now keep that time for writing.

The online tutor Jenny was great. She has a lot of knowledge and will give it freely. I value her input. I enjoyed the workshopping.

I am a lot clearer now about all that goes into writing a novel. The pieces were there, I just needed to put them together, which is what the course did. All the strands are connected. It's just putting them together for me.

Glad I signed up!

Nicole Locke 1 year ago

My tutor was absolutely fantastic. Jenny has been incredibly helpful and provided many important insights that I have incorporated into my work.

I enjoyed workshopping and building a community. Everyone has been really encouraging.

Every lesson and workshop provided me with the information and support I need to take my writing to the next level. Without the support of this community, I would not be as far into my novel as I am today.

I have a lot more confidence in my writing. I would probably have given up by now if not for the course.

Thank you!

Sally 1 year ago

This course gave my writing direction and focus and helped a lot with giving my characters a voice.

Excellent feedback from Cathie as well as good ideas about which books I can buy to assist me in my writing. I really appreciated Cathie's individual attention to my work.

I started the course with some random chapters; I now have a main character with a strong voice and a direction for a novel.

If you're thinking of writing a novel you need to take this course so you don't waste time waffling about without focus.

Tracey Sloan 1 year ago

I wanted to get a solid start on my novel, hoping it would steer the rest of it in the right direction.

At first, I was nervous about presenting large pieces of my writing to others for open critique, but everyone is all in the same boat and just wants to work together to improve their writing.

I really appreciated Cathie's wealth of knowledge and her specific feedback. It's great to work with someone with such experience and know-how in the industry.

The course has helped me to refine the synopsis, and target areas of writing such as deep point of view. It has helped me to keep writing and work on the story plan. I am motivated to continue and finish.

Kay Weller 1 year ago

Jennifer was able to see things in the group's submissions from a much more professional point of view. It was very interesting to compare her critiques and feedback with my own. Her feedback for my own work helped to clarify some important points and, most of all, encouraged me to keep going.

Well worthwhile. You will learn a great deal about the craft of writing.

Gail Chrisfield 1 year ago

I came into the course with specific objectives and the course allowed me to meet them.

The tutor was helpful and encouraging, feedback and suggestions very useful.

If you don't know where to start, lack confidence or are completely terrified by the thought of writing a novel, this course will help you on your way. By the end of 10 weeks, I had a complete first draft - rough as guts, only 30,000 words, but the story was on the page, ready to be fleshed out and worked on (using the various tools provided during the course). I am now well and truly on my way, thanks to my tutor, the other writers I met through the course and the AWC.

Very impressed with the online learning platform - it's awesome.

Lachlan Hinchliffe 1 year ago

Jenny was absolutely fantastic. Her feedback was very insightful and she expertly pointed out areas for improvement and what was working well with my story. Her knowledge and passion for writing was evident and her enthusiasm to help her students was clear to all. I even learnt so much from her reviews of other students' work. Thanks Jenny!

I really loved reviewing the other students' work. We had such a diverse range of stories and I can honestly say that all were enjoyable to read.

I feel like I am finally finding my authorial voice in my story.

I would definitely recommend the Australian Writers' Centre. The course structure, the online learning platform, and the tutor were all easy to use and professional to deal with.

Scott Langman 1 year ago

I really enjoyed all aspects of the course. The discipline required each week really helped me progress my writing.

Jenny was awesome. She provided very constructive and fair feedback as well as plenty of support to our entire group. It really is a major benefit of the course to have an experienced and accomplished author to learn from. I greatly appreciate the work required from and inspiration that Jenny provided us. Thank you.

I loved providing and receiving feedback. I was a little hesitant to at first and had to develop my skills at providing supportive and constructive feedback, but I feel I developed this skill as the course progressed. I really enjoyed receiving feedback from both Jenny and my fellow students.

I also looked forward to each Monday when a new module became available and I don't say this lightly as I use to hate Mondays.

I now believe if I work hard, I have a very good chance of getting my novel finished and hopefully published. I've always wanted to be a writer but never had the discipline to follow through with it. This course has taught me the discipline required and dared me to dream!

Thanks to the entire AWC team for making this course an amazing and pleasurable learning experience. Abby with her cheerful, helpful and responsive email replies and presentation hosting, Nat with her support for following up our reviews. Valerie's audios and inspiring weekly emails and the rest of the team who work behind the scenes. I really appreciate everybody's efforts to make this course such a rewarding experience.

Ian Hopkinson 1 year ago

Jen was awesome. Very honest and open feedback.

The main thing I loved was the variety of feedback I received on my submissions. It was truly helpful. I found my strengths and weaknesses very quickly and I now know what I need to focus on in my future writing.

The AWC is an accelerator for aspiring writers with education, community, and accountability built in!

Matt 2 years ago

I completed the Creative Writing Stage 1 course and enjoyed that process. I was hesitant about sharing my writing - not knowing what to expect.

Pamela was great! She provided great constructive feedback and was always available to answer any questions.

The best part about the course is all the feedback on our submissions, and not just from the tutor but from the whole class. It's just so valuable!

I am more motivated to continue writing and I can actually see a way forward to completing my book.

For anyone thinking about writing a book, this is the course to do. Even if you know most of the theory, it's also great to just put you in touch with other like-minded writers.

Lisabeth Donohue 2 years ago

The feedback I received from Angela and my fellow writers was invaluable in helping me to progress my memoir. Angela was very thorough and provided effective feedback on what was working and what needed attention and, more importantly, how to address any problems. She was warm and approachable as well as being professional which is a great combo.

I completely changed the beginning of my memoir based on the feedback of Angela and other writers. This has changed my course profoundly. I wouldn't have seen it if I was flying solo!

A great big thank you to Angela and the AWC for the wonderful experience that this course gave me. Much appreciated and best wishes to you all.

I'd say if you want to learn the craft of writing or you want to write a book, sign up with the AWC - it'll take you forward on your path.

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