What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Pamela Cook was a brilliant tutor. I had her for Creative Writing Stage 1 as well, and she does a great job with her feedback, pointing out areas to improve and how we can move forward. I learnt so much through listening to her feedback given to other writers in the group too. She was very giving of her time, answering additional questions we had. Also shared her insights on the publishing industry at the final wrap event which was very useful. She was also fantastic at instilling confidence in me as a writer, to the point where I feel like I can tell people I'm a writer, I'm working on a novel!

It has greatly improved my writing skills, my understanding of novels, characters, POV, setting, plot and so much more. Most importantly, it has built my belief in myself as a writer. I know it's still a tough road and getting published isn't easy, but I'm going to give it my best crack, as I now have belief in my work that I didn't have before.

The courses at Australian Writers' Centre have been instrumental in developing my skills, knowledge and self-belief as a writer. I've completed quite a few, Novel Writing Essentials being the latest one. It has propelled me forward with confidence, and I now have 65,000 words down for my first novel. I've written for years - probably the last decade - but doing these courses has put me on the right track in terms of learning about structure, plot, character, dialogue, setting, POV (just to name a few). I couldn't be more proud and am very grateful for AWC and the tutors. If you're thinking about starting a course - don't hesitate. You will not regret it!

I completed the Creative Writing Stage 1 course last year and, much to my surprise, started writing a novel. I was stuck at around 4,000 words and signed up for Novel Writing Essentials to learn how to move forward. I was also interested to get feedback on my writing style to determine if I should keep going.

I was a bit hesitant about having my work read and critiqued, but it turned out to be a very useful, and not too painful, experience. I was also concerned about providing feedback on other people's work, however we were provided with advice on how to do this constructively.

I learnt more than I thought I would, the feedback was useful and I now have 24,000 words written.

I found Angela's feedback practical, helpful, honest and encouraging. She was generous in sharing her knowledge and experience along with useful techniques to improve structure and style. Angela answered all questions our cohort put forward and provided guidance. Overall I enjoyed Angela's class and was pleased we had her as our tutor.

What I found most enjoyable was learning more about the craft of writing a novel. It was comforting to realise that there are guidelines and structure that can help to get the story onto the page in a way that readers will enjoy. I've always read novels and marvelled at how the author creates dialogue, scenes and action that seem to just come naturally, to hook the reader and keep them reading to find out more - to learn there are techniques and guidelines to help me do the same was a wonderful revelation.

Do it, you will be surprised at the writer that's lurking within you and just needs coaxing out.

Angela was very encouraging and provided targeted advice to each writer. It was helpful to see her feedback to other students as well as our own. She provided insights into my writing that I realised were blockers and I now have strategies to overcome them. I really appreciated the 'extras' she gave us on structure and narrative too.

I'm enjoying writing a lot more now that I have a better idea of the novel writing process and less pressure to write beautifully in a first draft. The words are now flowing and I have a plan to get through my first draft.

There is no substitute for making the time to write, but the AWC can provide motivation and guidance to help you make the most of that time.

Nicole's feedback was invaluable. I really enjoyed listening to her recorded feedback not only for me but for all the other participants in my course. I got the impression everyone in my course got the confidence boost they needed to keep working on their manuscripts while at the same time benefiting from the constructive criticism and tips about what's not working.

By the end of the course I was emotionally invested in everyone's stories.

I have some confidence that I can actually write (of course there is lots to improve). Before doing the course, I was wondering if I was wasting my time.

DO IT! It's money well spent and the worst that can happen is that you discover your novel hasn't got legs. In saying that though, the course content is highly engaging so you're highly likely to be inspired to start another story that does have legs.

Nicole was a skilled writer and I found her feedback on all our submissions to be informative and supportive.

One, I grew in that I finished the course and committed to it the whole way through. Two, I learned from others that there is no magic - it's giving rein to your imagination and then, word by word, scene by scene, putting your story down. Three, don't agonise over making your first draft perfect - you'll change it anyway later.

Well-organised, practical lessons and handouts. Thoughtful, detailed feedback from the tutor and AWC's coordination/moderation of workshopping means that feedback is constructive and useful and not scary.

I love the AWC. Your website is so informative, welcoming to new writers without being patronising, and honest about the writing process without being intimidating or gatekeeping. It's one of the best decisions I've made to enrol in Creative Writing Stage 1 last year, so I knew that the next step would be even more informative and engaging.

Pamela was wonderful. Very honest about feedback given, but never in a way that was impersonal, overly harsh or unhelpful. Very thorough, detailed comments that gave me a really good springboard for my further drafts.

I enjoyed the video feedback format from the tutor. I like how different learning styles were incorporated - some people respond better to detailed text instructions, whereas some digest them better in video or audio.

I now have a very confident path to forge ahead with my planned novel, and during these uncertain times of lockdowns, it's fantastic to have something you can confidently focus on.

After completing Creative Writing stage 1, I was hooked, and found myself writing a story. The Novel Writing Essentials course felt like perfect timing.

Pamela's feedback was very useful and I found myself having many aha moments during her feedback. I enjoyed reading all the other stories from classmates and receiving their feedback. The audio lessons are fantastic!

I was using a lot of flashbacks in my story and, after the useful feedback from Pamela, I have re-written many scenes using story present. As a result, I am feeling a lot happier with those scenes and feel closer to my characters too.

I highly recommend taking a course with the Australian Writers' Centre. My understanding of plot, characters and individuality as a writer has transformed my approach to my writing and I feel very encouraged about where my story is going, thanks to what I have learned through the course.

I look forward to signing up to the novel writing course next, although I am going to pause to zone in on my story for a few months just using what I have learned from the Novel Writing Essentials course. I plan to go over the coursework again and continue to workshop with the group privately for the time being. But I will certainly be back for more courses.

Pamela was very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. The environment was encouraging.

I'm working hard on completing my novel and thanks to this course I am out of the thinking stage and into the active writing stage.

As I worked on writing my own piece and providing feedback for my fellow course-mates, I realised that the important thing was to get the story down and that it doesn't have to be perfect. As long as the story is written I will have the opportunity to make it better as much as I want.

The Australian Writers' Centre provides a friendly and encouraging environment, especially to someone like me who lacked confidence in her work and was afraid of criticism. The experience is constructive, inspiring and overall fun.

I completed a creative writing course a few years ago and had started writing a novel. I hadn't looked at it in a year so wanted to get motivated to write again. I have listened to the podcasts for quite a while and enjoy Allison and Valerie's banter, so thought I would give Novel Writing Essentials a go.

Pamela was amazing! Her feedback was so useful and made perfect sense. She gave a lot of tips throughout the course interwoven through her various feedbacks. I learned a lot from listening to her feedback to other students as well as my own.

I enjoyed the learnings from the feedback sessions - both Pamela's and the other students. Also, reading other submissions and seeing the many different writing styles/genres.

I have started writing again and I feel like I know (sort of) what I'm doing now.

Even though I have completed a couple of creative writing courses over the years, I regret that I didn't start with the Australian Writers' Centre creative writing course.

Pamela Cook was an excellent tutor and gave great feedback throughout this course, not just to myself but all the students.

The opportunity to read the work of others and offer feedback, and receiving feedback, was fantastic as it has helped improve my own work.

These courses are great, the tutors are very helpful, the classroom is respectful to your work and the feedback others offer is fantastic.

I really enjoyed meeting other writers on this and other courses run by the AWC. I feel like I have made a real connection with some of the other students and may have found not only some new friends but really wonderful long term beta readers.

Anyone with dreams of being a writer would be helped by a course run by the Australian Writers' Centre. It is a great starting place.

I started writing a novel and wanted to learn more fiction techniques and I needed some accountability to keep writing! I also wanted feedback on my work in a safe environment.

I was a bit scared about sharing my work with others, but I actually found it so helpful in the end having feedback from my classmates and Nicole.

Nicole was great at giving feedback. She picked up on a lot of things that I didn't think about until she said it, which is really going to help improve my work. She was a good tutor.

I enjoyed the workshopping, receiving feedback (even if it's a little scary) and reading other classmates' work.

I would say that if you are keen to learn fiction techniques properly and want to actually write a novel (the right way) to look to the AWC :)

The insights gained from feedback and workshopping has taken my work to another level, and was an excellent way of learning to identify some things I missed, and what to watch out for in the future; what worked and what didn't.

I learnt a lot of additional titbits - introducing characters in a way that readers will remember them, developing anchors for them.

Obtaining the courage to develop my own writing style, although I am a newbie, and not one based on any perceived standards or expectations.

The program of learning, writing, feedback and workshopping is spot on. Never underestimate the immense value of workshopping and feedback. This form of obtaining beta readers is far superior to tapping into your own networks in many ways.

Stephen gave excellent feedback, including oral and written which broadened it out. He gave considered comments and often did extra research in an area if he needed to (e.g. historical facts). He was always very encouraging but not afraid to say something major if needed. If he was held up with his feedback, he made it known that was the case.

I've learnt a number of things which will improve my writing, such as fleshing out characters more, for example. The feedback from all participants was invaluable, enjoyable and a positive experience. I respect their opinions because I know that their own writing is of a high standard, so the feedback is well-grounded.

It's a great organisation, which caters particularly to Australian writers but not excluding others. The course was of a high standard, and they add extra interest by having webinars/zoom sessions, fun competitions and extra blogs/emails to help keep your motivation up.

The structure is well designed for learning and the feedback is relevant to the stage of writing. Very informative and supported.

The tutor was very straight forward, good and constructive feedback with suggestions.

I enjoyed reading other stories as well as feedback.

It provided structure and encouragement to hit the target, without too much pressure. Tailored for the needs of writers who need the scaffolding to build their stories.

Practical, useful and engaging. Get going.

I wanted to dedicate myself to my dream of writing a novel, and I thought this course would be a great first step. I desperately needed the structure and accountability to get to work! My only concern was not being able to keep up with the writing schedule.

I found the lessons very interesting and applicable. I have never written such long-form fiction before and so the advice and direction of each of the recordings offered a great foundation for my writing. I have taken several writing courses in the past, and still learnt so much! I also liked the interaction with my fellow coursemates!

This course has started me on my lifelong dream of writing a novel! The advice, techniques and skills I have gained will be instrumental for me on my writing journey.

I enjoyed workshopping the manuscript of my fellow course members, and reading their feedback.

It's given me the belief that I'm on my way to becoming a capable, and hopefully engaging, writer.

The tutor was lovely, caring and very direct with critiquing on what can be improved, which was brilliant. That is exactly what I was looking for.

The video comments on the submitted work were brilliant. Thank you - so valuable

I will be placing more importance into character development and how they are seen by readers and how to use them to move the story forward.

I found Angela's feedback very helpful. I also contacted her privately with my doubts, given I was the only student writing memoir. She reassured me and supported me to continue with my writing. Her positive feedback has encouraged me to continue writing as I've gained a great deal of confidence.

I enjoyed listening to the online tutorials and then trying to put the advice into practice. I also enjoyed receiving Angela's and the other students’ feedback which I will now process.

I'm very motivated to continue my memoir, given Angela's positive feedback about my writing style. Whether I have it published is another issue as I have no idea how to go about this. It's now my focus to go down that path, as Abby, who has also been very supportive to me during the course, has also encouraged me to pursue the publishing aspect.

Angela was great. Learned so much from her feedback given - not just to me but everyone else as well. Plus the extra info she gave us on various subjects was really useful.

The tutor and the workshopping were fantastic. I found the process so valuable for keeping my writing on track and learning lots at the same time.

The idea of writing a novel has felt so overwhelming. After this course, I feel much more confident about not only writing but finishing.

I've taken a few courses here and the standard of tutoring has always been so high. The weekly lessons and resources are practical, easy to understand and apply. Definitely builds confidence.