What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I've learnt important things that I can take away and apply to my own writing. Understanding that the antagonist needs as much work as the other main characters and that giving them motive and a deep reasoning behind their actions is very beneficial and can make the story richer.

I enjoyed workshopping with peers. The structure to learn by providing feedback and receiving feedback. Also, Discord has helped me to maintain my connection to classmates.

Nothing can compare to fresh eyes looking over your work. Noticing structural patterns you have missed yourself and writing that needs to be tweaked due to this.

Do it!

This course was easy to understand, step by step handouts, well explained and well paced.

I have been pitching but offering more of a synopsis. Now I know that I need more of an enticer for the publisher and have more time to say other points, such as why I chose to write this ms, information about previous writing etc.

AWC courses are comprehensive, extremely useful and enjoyable. There is a course for everyone's needs. Every course I have done with the AWC has been extremely helpful, informative and exactly what I was looking for to extend and enrich my writing skills.

The content of this course opened up and broadened my horizons in terms of 'how writing is done'. Kate Forsyth delivered a lot of helpful breakdowns of fundamentals, and built on those fundamentals in ways that enriched my understanding of those concepts.

Kate Forsyth has a undeniable charm as a speaker, you feel as though a friend is telling you something they are deeply passionate about and are greatly skilled at (which is of course the reality).

What seemed to be a tall scary obstacle has been reduced to its components, meaning that I can tackle that big scary obstacle in smaller, more manageable pieces.

The Five Point Plan developed by Kate Forsyth gives me the skeleton on which to build everything upon and gives a guide as to how to plan my dramatic arc and at which point in the narrative each plot point should happen.

I've completed several courses and have found each to be well worth the time and cost. If you've ever thought to yourself 'Could I be a writer?' the answer is yes. With AWC courses you will discover that you absolutely can become a writer.

I really enjoyed this course and how each unit expanded my knowledge around creating strong characters. It was easy to follow and the tasks were easy to implement.

Helped me to realise that there is so much more to writing about characters and the importance that a strong well-developed character has to a story. The importance of dialogue and the different types to use in a story. Also how a character's past and present influence their actions.

The Australian Writers' Centre is a wonderful resource for all writers. Their courses provide such wonderful insights into the world of writing and publishing books and the knowledge I have gained has been indispensable.

The tutor gave really helpful feedback. I was able to make edits to my story based on her feedback.

I enjoyed exploring picture books and having fun writing and turning my ideas into stories. It's given me the confidence to have a crack at being an author.

Margaret was wonderful. She was very encouraging and approached the constructive feedback professionally and kindly. Her enthusiasm and positivity never wavered. Feedback was highly valuable and will shape the remainder of my novel writing efforts.

I loved the audio lessons, so rich in content and easy to digest. I appreciate that we have these resources to refer back to after the course. The dynamics of our groups was exceptional. The feedback from all students and Margaret was so valuable. I found providing feedback got easier as the course went on.

I have a greater confidence to share my work and the student group has already planned to do this through a Whats App group. The feedback has given me better direction and I have learned a great deal from Margaret and the course material.

A big thank you to Margaret. I will recommend her as a top tutor to writing friends.

Nat was great. I enjoyed her enthusiasm, her worldly adventures and literary concepts. Nat's guidance was spot on and very helpful.

I enjoyed the videos that Valerie Khoo starred in. The process of listening to her tutorials was easy and the content was informative. Then doing the set task for each module was enjoyable. I'm looking forward to joining another course.

Give it a try. it's great value for money and very informative. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It definitely gave me the encouragement to write my book.

I was interested to learn what kids considered funny and after reading the outline I thought this course would be a great introduction to learning how humour can be incorporated in kids books.

Tim's approach to the delivery of the course was great. You can tell he has been a school teacher. I enjoyed the variety in the modules and Tim's way of delivering the subject.

I think writing funny stories for kids is a great way to connect. It can provide a learning experience in life lessons while still being entertaining. Kids have the chance to laugh at ridiculous things and don't have to be serious all the time.

AWC offers well-structured courses about all aspects of writing. A course for everyone interested in learning more about writing.

Cathie has the most amazing range of knowledge! The way she could answer questions and advise on all genres or anyone's manuscript and make it make sense to apply to my own writing was an absolute bonus. Cathie was always available for those 'silly' questions and made them not so silly. She's very direct and honest, and I loved that.

It made something click in my brain, and has totally changed the way I'm editing and writing my next draft.

This will change your writing forever, and you'll meet some amazing people on the way.

Cathie was generous with her time and her wisdom. She was clear yet diplomatic with her feedback, and I trusted her implicitly to help me toward a better version of the story I wanted to tell. I really appreciated her pragmatism around writing something with an end goal of traditional publication in mind.

I found the camaraderie with other people in the course to be an unexpected bonus. The additional support and enthusiasm of the group was invaluable.

My writing has improved dramatically, and writing a novel has gone from a fuzzy, far-off goal to a reality I am working toward step by step.

More of a slow realisation, but a major takeaway was that writing a novel is a process. Sounds obvious, but it was very freeing to see my story transform and be able to treat my first draft as a 'first coat of paint'. That there were actionable steps to take, and things Cathie identified to work on was incredibly useful - I didn't have to plan and write something perfect from the get go.

If you commit to a program like Write Your Novel, your progress toward a strong draft of your story will be much faster. Also, everything you need to know about the craft of writing a novel publishers want to read is in this course.

Thank you for such a great experience!

My tutor Margaret was very supportive, and the feedback was great and very helpful. She made effort to go into detail about things that could be improved while also taking the time to be positive about what I had done well.

I enjoyed the chance to be able to work alongside a group of people with similar passions and interests. I enjoyed reading and giving feedback on genres of writing that I typically would not have read. This challenged me and I feel that it helped me in my own writing.

I learned a lot from giving and receiving feedback during this course. My tutor and fellow students pointed out things that I had not seen or realised and it helped me to look at things in my work that I hadn't realised needed work.

The course is very beneficial for people wanting to learn more about writing and enhance their skills.

I really enjoyed being able to move through the course at my own pace. It allowed me to sit down with the material only when I had the focus and energy for it. I also loved the video commentary - it gave me extra insight into each topic and made the learning feel more grounded. The exercises with answer keys were incredibly helpful too; they let me see, in real time, what I understood well and where I needed to slow down and revisit things.

The “amazing” moment for me was recognising how much control I actually have over the rhythm and meaning of my writing. Understanding tense more clearly, and seeing how editing choices affect the arc, gave me a sense of confidence I didn't expect. It felt like a door opening.

The course has already clarified several areas I've struggled with, but I feel the true impact will become clear once I begin editing my own writing. That's when I'll really see how much of the learning has taken root.

It's a wonderful platform for revisiting or learning the core skills that make writing clearer and more confident. The self-paced structure makes it easy to fit into real life, no matter how busy you are.

The course has galvanised my plan to write that memoir.

The tutor was great. Gave practical feedback and advice.

I enjoyed the weekly writing task.

Just enrol if you want to get on track with your writing.

The audio lessons are very well prepared and delivered, always informative and useful. I found Modules 1-4 very enlightening. Not just 'this is how you do it', but WHY you do it this way. In particular, the analyses of personality types (the OCEAN), the functions of characters, and applying this to my story was invaluable.

My tutor was brilliant. The feedback from Margaret, and her clear interest in what I am trying to do, has made me believe that I can finish this.

I now understand the setting up of key questions to be addressed, and how answering them fits into the structure. This forced me to clarify the issues/questions that I want to explore from the period of history I am writing about, and to develop them through various scenes.

If you want to write something, do a course first.

Super practical, lots of great examples and the module tasks where fun. The scaffold for plotting the story was a great tool that I will be able to use over and over. I also really appreciated the clear and logical presentation of the modules.

It has given me confidence. It has also made me realise that I need to show, don't tell, as I am continually falling into that trap.

AWC courses are practical, fun, current and flexible.

Nat was really helpful with her feedback. Each time I moved onto another piece of writing I would have her voice in my head reminding me of what I needed to get right.

I enjoyed the bonus activities, I learnt so much from them, especially on structure and pacing and how to get POV right.

I was writing a novel, but I kind of stopped for a few weeks to concentrate on the course. I have since gone back to writing, and I'm finding the level of knowledge I now have is really helping me craft a much better story. I also didn't think I could ever write anything good enough to be published. Now I think I could have a shot.

If you really want to learn how to write and have a red-hot shot at actually getting published, I would definitely do a course with you guys. I have learnt so much in such a short time. BTW, I have already recommended you to someone.

I'm really looking forward to Creative Writing 2. I will probably be doing a lot of your courses. I am loving the experience of learning so much. Thank you Nat and team.

I have a passion for crime and psychological thriller novels. Writing a novel of my own has always been on my bucket list, as I have always loved writing. I thought I would start with this course as it would help me with an understanding of the research side of things, and it certainly did not disappoint. I am now looking forward to enrolling in the novel essentials course to take the next step in ticking off my bucket list and a dream.

The range of information included links to videos and handouts. It provided a nice cross-section for someone who could drop a pin with their research and let their imagination run wild.

If you have ever considered taking a course through the AWC, don't wait any longer. The courses are so well thought out, the content, structure and support are next level. I have completed several, and with each one, I continue to learn something new, which not only improves my writing but gets me closer to my end goal of becoming a published author.

Bernadette's feedback was invaluable. She provided such insightful views and comments in a very non-confrontational way (receiving feedback can be daunting).

I enjoyed being able to read others' work and see how it is critiqued/viewed by an industry professional.

Bernadette was so generous and encouraging with her feedback. A very big thank you.

I enjoyed the way Pamela Freeman presented the content in easy, manageable steps.

I now know I really do have the beginnings of a novel.

The Australian Writers' Centre consistently delivers high quality and relevant courses and feedback.