What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I enjoyed the content and am glad that I signed up to the course. Information was delivered in a clear manner and it made me feel both like I was capable of finishing a novel and also that I have a lot to learn.

Pamela Freeman was great, and I had seen one of her presentations before and actually was one of the reasons I wanted to pick this course. I appreciated her honest feedback.

I liked having clear assignments to work on, knowing I would get feedback on how to improve.

I am going to get that first draft done and then another six or more if it needs it. It wasn't just the content that taught me to think about writing better, but I feel encouraged to try harder and to fail and then try again. I will make the time to write consistently.

This course is a clear foundation in the main points of creative writing. It brings attention to all the key components of what you would want to know to get started on writing a first draft and gives you the confidence boost and skills to go for it. From here, you can only improve.

I was very impressed by the structure of the course - the handouts, lessons, exercise, assignments and feedback.

I appreciated Pamela's positive and encouraging tone, her attention to detail - even small editing errors were picked up, and her more substantial feedback to all participants. So much to learn from feedback to each participant.

I enjoyed the assignments - just the right length, direction and timing. I looked forward to the focus of the assignment each week.

I want to get on with writing. I started quite sure that I did not have a book in me, which was perfectly fine by me. I am now seriously contemplating having a go at writing a novel. So yes, it is amazing!

Sign up and get writing! You'll love it!

The course was very well put together - so thorough, clear and engaging. Vivienne has chosen some great examples for us to learn from and generously shared from her own experience.

The tutor was absolutely wonderful. Very generous, honest and in-depth feedback, always leaving us encouraged to keep going.

I enjoyed everything - the way it was structured, increasing the level of difficulty of the assignments in line with what we were learning; the pace of delivery; the very memorable flower model; the great examples and showing us how they were put together.

I feel so much more confident about crafting my own opinion pieces and am bubbling with ideas. I am hoping to start submitting one or two soon.

I found Pamela's wise delivery and ability to add in extra practical tips really enjoyable and inspiring. I can't wait to try out what I learned on my work in progress.

It taught me to be more mindful and strategic of how I open and close a chapter. I particularly loved the advice to "come in late and get out early." Also, to end the chapter with something that will keep readers wanting to turn the page and read more.

I've done many fantastic courses with the Australian Writers' Centre over the years, mostly in business writing (copywriting, content writing, website writing, real estate writing etc.). So, with 2026 being the year I want to write a romance novel, it was a no-brainer to come back to AWC courses for all the tools I need to make my book as good as it can be. I highly recommend AWC courses to anyone who wants to get better at writing and increase their chances of publishing success.

Just well done AWC! Another great course. I can't wait to do some more.

I enjoyed the learning modules and the interviews with other writers and their tips. I like the books mentioned too.

I enjoyed it and I now write my personal pages daily.

Thank you to my tutor and for an affordable course that anyone can complete.

As always, I love the format, as it suits my availability and learning style. This, together with the expertise of Pamela, already was a winner for me.

I'll have a better idea of what, where and how I'll use them... or not, going forward.

There is so much to be gained, without huge outlays. Just dip your toe in, you'll love it.

I found it really enjoyable.

My online tutor made a very positive impression through professional, insightful, and clear feedback. Mark's guidance was easy to understand and provided practical direction that helped me build confidence as a writer.

I enjoyed the assignments!

I'd recommend AWC for its supportive learning environment, practical feedback and wide range of inspiring writing courses.

I thought it was great. I enjoyed learning more about the genre, and the map making.

The course has given me more confidence. I am getting a lot out of it.

I really enjoyed this course. It was explained so well and demystified the process for me. I can't wait to start playing with Scrivener!

I really appreciated the pacing of the course. It was very easy to follow and broken down into nice bite sized chunks.

It has given me the confidence to launch into some new projects that I otherwise would have kept procrastinating about or not attempted at all.

It really opened up an understanding of how authors can write novels from multiple points of view - how well Scrivener facilitates this process.

If you are interested in kick starting a career in writing, check out the AWC courses.

Pamela was great. She provided constructive feedback and kept it positive without skipping valuable criticisms.

I enjoyed that it was self-paced and online. It gave me some structure and some deadlines to work to so I didn't spend too much time procrastinating.

The interface was organised and easy to use. Everything worked!

It's given me some solid structure to move forward with and a bit of juice to keep going.

This course will save you years of faffing around in the wilderness.

Pamela is great! She's obviously got so much experience to impart and her guidance was terrific.

I enjoyed the weekly video lessons. I learnt a lot! And the reassurance that it's not unusual to find it tough 20,000 words or so in!

I am much more conscious of when plot points emerge in the books and movies I'm watching! It's helped me navigate the way to unfold my story into a more compelling novel.

AWC courses are useful and well-constructed. The calibre of writing was really strong in my course!

Cathie Tasker's feedback had the brilliance of a Catherine wheel firework - it was lively, unforgettable and it did spark my passion each time. Cathie Tasker encouraged me (and my other classmates) to ask questions, to keep asking them, and she answered them all consciously.

I found it most enjoyable when I challenged myself, saw my finished assignments and waited for my WEEKLY feedback (score!)

It reconfirmed and solidified in the most marvellous way that writing picture books (as a part of storytelling) is where my life should go. Writing and earning a contract from a traditional publisher means a lot to me, and I can't let it go. I won't.

Even if you knew say 5% of the things that they teach, what it does is reconfirm that your thinking and understanding was on the right path. There will be plenty of surprises and tips. Additionally, the Australian Writers' Centre, based upon my experiences, takes the complex warren of writing a picture book and manages to map it out so effortlessly that you really can't get lost. I'd say: Go for it, bunny!

Simply and sincerely a thank you to Cathie Tasker and Valerie Khoo. :)

The Writing Picture Books course well and truly exceeded my expectations. There was so much information available in the modules and handouts about writing in this genre. The tutor, Cathie Tasker, was incredibly knowledgeable and very supportive. Cathie gave valuable feedback and was always kind and encouraging. Thank you, Cathie.

Cathie was amazing - her feedback was greatly appreciated. Cathie was able to tell you where you were going wrong in a kind and encouraging way, and would let you know when you had done something well. Cathie's experience and professionalism was evident throughout the course.

I loved that I was writing at last! The course was structured really well and the content was perfect.

It has made me realise that I can do this, I can write. I know that I need lots of practice - but I can see myself publishing a book one day.

I just needed some guidance and encouragement to get going with my writing and AWC's Writing Picture Books gave that to me. I would highly recommend the course; it is full of relevant, topical information and the tutor is very experienced in the publishing industry. The modules are well structured and the feedback is truly valuable.

I would just like to say thank you to Cathie for her amazing guidance and her patience with us newbies! After Cathie's feedback I would read over my story and could see exactly what she meant. Thanks so much! Will be doing the Chapter Books course next.

The course covered questions I did not know I had and filled in huge gaps of awareness in writing picture books, particularly the three-act structure and the insights into the publishing world.

Cathie has been a gift, she is insightful, highly qualified, and her feedback has been on point and much valued, thanks Cathie!!

In no particular order, I enjoyed: The flexibility, the short duration of 5 weeks, the huge volume of relevant information, the structure of the course with awareness of our steep learning curve and development. And also I really appreciated the additional information for illustrators, as I would love to have one of my books published one day with my own illustrations!

Prior to the course I had confidence in character development both written and visual (I'm an artist) plus the story background and basic outline, but I have had a major boost in awareness of how to develop a plot using the three-act structure.

Just do it! the course fills in so many of the gaps in knowledge I previously had, and I feel so much more empowered now to actually have a book published!

A huge thanks in gratitude to Cathie Tasker and Valerie Khoo for writing this course and making it available to us :)

I was so blown away the first week when I got a video of Nat reading and commenting on everyone's work. I thought that was worth the money of the course right there, to have someone like Nat with all her years of lived experience was priceless. Especially helpful was her acting background and how she read into what was written; it gave me confidence to not overexplain things, trust my word choices, but also helped me to see what details you need to "tell" not show, like physical beats in a scene.

I thought the assignments were great! I was very excited every week. I would refresh my emails all day waiting for the notification of the feedback videos. Watching them was a personal highlight for me. Icing on the cake.

If you want to take your writing seriously this is the best place to start. You learn so much and it's such a nurturing, personalised environment.

Pamela was an honest and helpful tutor. She gave necessary and honest feedback on my writing.

It motivated me to get back into writing and start trying to achieve my writing goals.

It is a great course to get you back into writing and motivate you to stay on track with simple techniques.

The concepts were fascinating. It was broken down so simply, it was easy to follow and learn.

I haven't enjoyed learning about a topic in a very long time. I want to learn more!

It's a great investment. Not just theory, the courses help you develop practical skills in the course that can be used in the real world.

Vivienne was great! She gave very useful feedback and my writing has improved since doing this course.

I enjoyed the format of the course, specifically the need to do an assignment each week meant that I stayed on course. I enjoyed that it was specific, to the point and felt like I was getting insider knowledge.

I think of my reader more, and ensure my writing makes sense and is easy to read and understand. I think about using transitions, and now know how to break up my paragraphs (something I was never sure about!).

I read my writing back to myself out loud and/or give it to someone to read. I guess I care more about my writing, I think I was quite sloppy before (years and years of only writing in my journal), I'm learning how to tighten it up.

This is a great course of you want to know exactly what to do to become a freelance writer.

Both presenters were excellent. Bernadette demonstrated impressive presentation skills, explaining everything clearly and making the concepts easy to understand. The assignments were well-defined and clearly stated. Mark's approach to reviewing the assignments was both encouraging and insightful. He shared valuable insights and offered useful advice. Both demonstrated approachable mannerisms. I'm a qualified, experienced trainer/assessor, so it was impressive - well done.

It is a great course to learn copywriting from highly experienced copywriters and to see what happens inside an agency.

I anticipated this course would be good, but it genuinely blew me away. Its content is deeper and broader than I'd expected - and it revealed plenty that I didn't know about or had never considered - all things that will be crucial to starting me off on the right foot when presenting to kids.

I'd heard of the course when it first came out, but at the time I wasn't contracted. And now that I have my debut junior fiction book coming out this year, it was definitely time! I've done many AWC courses before and got enormous value from each of them. Plus, I'd seen Nat Amoore present at an event and knew she'd be a powerhouse.

Nat's a brilliant presenter! She's energetic and enthusiastic, as well as generous in sharing lots about her personal experiences. The content is quite granular in places (e.g. the business side of being a kids author/presenter) but Nat presented everything in a high energy, fun way so it was always engaging.

It's given me a clear outline of what things to figure out ahead of time and what to organise and plan before my book's release. I now feel much more confident about this part of the job.

Nat's repetition of the importance of making everything 'kid-centric' was good to have drummed into me. As a 'north star' it will guide how I plan events/activities/communications etc and reduce my scattergun thinking.

When I started out, I didn't know what I didn't know. Each AWC course I've done since has made the process of learning fun and enlightening! I doubt I'd be becoming a published author without them.