What’s it like to learn with AWC?

The seminar has added lots of little things that I can now use to combine as a whole for my writing process. Pamela pointed out things that I had not thought of before, such as the world being a character too.

Natasha gave us some good information in a short amount of time. It has shown me that Scrivener will work with my specific needs, and it's nice to know that I am writing in the same way as other writers.

There were answers to question I didn't know I had! The content was truly thorough and clear and helped me understand the industry a lot more.

I feel more confident taking the next step.

AWC courses are extensive and thorough in the information they provide, and the use of authors who have succeeded in publishing via their courses, is a great motivator to see that it can be done.

The explanations and examples are clear. I know this is a weakness in my writing and it gave me the opportunity to focus on this technique and to pull out some key steps and ideas I can use to improve my writing.

Some feedback suggests that using 1st person or 3rd person limited POV is the only way. The course shows how other approaches can be used to enhance your story. For instance, it can be OK to move from omniscient to limited POV, and there are pointers for managing this transition to great effect. I love having guidelines (some stronger than others) that show ways of applying technique according to what you're trying to achieve with the story - not one set of rigid rules.

AWC offers a huge range of practical, accessible courses that feel genuinely targeted at helping you become a better writer.

I enjoyed the extra reading and research and links and the amount of information provided in each module.

Having dived down several rabbit holes following links from the course it is has made me consider changing the novel I am writing to have more twists with regards to miscarriage of justice or doubts over it - particularly where women are vilified by the press (Amanda Knox and Lucy Letby).

I now have a greater understanding of the processes from the discovery of a crime right through the detection, police procedure, crime scene, judicial process and prison.

AWC courses are really well researched with ongoing exercises and guides that genuinely helped my writing process and decisions on the storyline and characters.

I loved the content by Vivienne. She explained things clearly and well. Her comments and feedback were very helpful.

I think about the opening sentences and structure much more than previously.

Definitely worth it.

I enjoyed the clarity around paralanguage and body language. Foundational dialogue skills. Breaking down the components so that I can understand them and now try putting them together.

Well-structured courses that focus on the important skills.

I have wanted to pursue writing for means other than marketing and content for a long time - and this course appealed to me.

Vivienne was great, thorough in her feedback and delivery. I liked the course's practicality.

I am slowly starting a writing practice - that I hope to use to create opinion pieces for publication.

I want to learn how to craft characters in stories more efficiently and needed insight and tools to do this. I sometimes get bogged down with details so this helped a lot.

I think I have a better understanding of what it takes to create and write characters in stories now and can see how I can action this in my writing to bring memorable characters to life.

The part about internal discourse resonated with me because I realise now how I can use this for further character development.

The Australian Writers' Centre has practical, real life courses that help writers and creatives with writing and creating.

Pamela Freeman is a good teacher. I'm very happy with the course.

It's motivated me to keep moving with the book I am currently working on.

I loved the videos with Pamela. It was lovely to see her expressive face and passion she has for the for the subject of fantasy. I also enjoyed the exercises that were set especially the map making. The course provided reflection, revision and renewed enthusiasm to continue with the development of my story.

The course gave me the depth of information I was looking for to develop the story plot, characters, and magic system, as well as the enthusiasm to start putting my story together.

It actually took me over two years to finally enrol. My main hesitation was whether it would be worth the financial investment. Before committing, I tried reading books on writing, researching online resources, and even taking cheaper courses-but none of them gave me the help I was looking for.

The depth of information in this course was much more than I expected.

My tutor was fantastic. She struck a perfect balance between being encouraging and offering valuable areas for improvement. Initially, I found the feedback a little disheartening and difficult to take, especially since it had been a while since anyone had reviewed my creative writing. However, after a few sessions, I quickly realised that all her points were valid and solely focused on helping me grow as a writer.

The handouts were so helpful. There is so much information included that I think I need another 5 weeks to go through it all again!

I have much more confidence in my writing now, and am motivated to keep persisting.

My biggest 'aha!' moment was gaining the tools to diagnose my own work. Before the course, I had several half-written stories that I knew 'didn't work', but I could not explain why. Now, I can go back to those drafts and pinpoint the exact structural, pacing or other issues that were holding them back, giving me a clear path to fix them.

This course is definitely worth the investment. It costs more for a reason - specifically, the incredible depth of information and the quality of direct feedback given throughout the modules.

I enjoyed being able to listen to each section more than once and having the visual handouts to support the spoken elements worked well together. I also enjoyed making connections with well-known picture books.

I had hit a wall where I felt anything I wrote wasn't good enough and I was embarrassed to share it. Now I feel more confident and proud of my writing.

If you are serious about learning how to write and publish a picture book, the Australian Writers' Centre courses are thorough and professional.

Kate covered all aspects of the course with fascinating insights, and I loved the accompanying artwork.

I now construct my sentences with intention. (I rewrote the previous one three, no four, times!) Furthermore, prior to this course, I hadn't considered sentences as music, but now I understand words have rhythms that, when used purposefully, produce a powerful atmosphere or create a deep emotion.

It's possible to break the rules, take risks, and still create a magnificent book such as The Book Thief.

The AWC is the perfect place to go if you want to become a better writer.

I enjoyed the practical exercises and also the handouts to refer to in future.

The AWC has so many great courses and you learn so much.

As a teacher, I have worked with picture books my entire career. I got to a stage where I wanted to know the 'behind the scenes' of a picture book. I wasn't even sure if there was a 'behind the scenes' but I figured that AWC was the place to go to find out. I was to discover that there is an actual recipe for writing a picture book and I was fortunate enough to learn the recipe from AWC.

Margaret was supportive, knowledgeable and the critic (in a kind way) that I needed. She was able to help me realise that writing and publishing a picture book could definitely be in my life plan. However, she also helped me realise that I have a way to go!

I will never read a picture book to my students or to myself ever again in the same way. I feel like I have gone 'backstage' and found the real goings-on of a picture book.

I would absolutely encourage a friend or colleague to do AWC courses. I feel the self paced 'learn when you can' style of learning is great for busy people (I sometimes listened to the lessons when I was making dinner!). I also feel like the courses are well priced and good value for money.

I want to say a huge thank you to all at AWC including Margaret. I have learned so much about the art of writing picture books, from developing characters and creating engaging story lines to understanding structure and repetition, and that all-important 'warm hug' ending. The course has given me confidence, inspiration and skills to attempt writing my own picture book. I have loved every moment of this journey. Thank you also for covering the business end of things. This is learning I also greatly appreciated.

This course will give you solid ideas about how to put the content of your book together as well as the fine detail of publishing and advertising it.

This information is for a place well in my journey's future, however good to know where you are headed so as not to fall into traps if/when you reach this stage of the process.

I had no idea it was all so complex. All of this information will (hopefully) be great to have in ones toolbelt.

The tutor was professional, knowledgeable and thorough.

I enjoyed the rhythm and pace of the course. I now have so much respect for shorter text!

If you love to write, seasoned or not, AWC have got the lot! I'll be signing up again soon!

This course was great for gaining knowledge on the technical structure of picture book writing.

Margaret was lovely, encouraging and positive.

Knowing more about the structural requirements of picture book writing will definitely save me time and (hopefully) set me in the right direction toward publication.

The timeframe is doable in a busy week and it's great to have a starting point of potential industry contacts.