What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Loved the video presentations that incorporated writers that have had their memoirs published. I certainly increased my reading list for this year!

I found the tutorials inspiring. It is reiterated that our stories matter, that we should at least write for ourselves even if we never write that book that is published!

There is definitely a course for everyone if you have an interest in writing. My BF who lives interstate just revealed that she did the food writing course and she thought it was excellent.

Thank you for offering this opportunity to be creative and to engage with like-minded people. Thank you, Nat, for your patience and kindness.

I enjoyed the discussions about the composition of a cover and how to match it to genre.

It made me think I could possibly make a cover myself!

This course is an introduction to the mysteries of what makes a good cover. There is also helpful information on where to access fonts.

Alexandra was very knowledgeable and succinct.

I enjoyed learning something new! Especially writing the profile piece.

This course gave me something challenging to be interested in and learn when I wasn't getting that in other areas of my life. I have a renewed enthusiasm for everything.

Thank you for changing my life.

I have already written my first three chapters and am now up to my fifth draft. This course was a useful tool and in some parts of my chapters I'm on the right track.
There is also room for improvement and perhaps some info dumping.

The course was clear with its step-by-step approach and covered many of the main aspects of Scrivener you might use.

I now understand how to store, link and use my research within Scrivener which is so much better than going back and forth between my files and Scrivener.

It's possible to write in composition mode without all the distracting features of scrivener! I wish I'd known this before.

This is a great short introduction to Scrivener that gives you all the basics and more that you can then apply to your own project.

I enjoyed learning the extent of online access to resources especially through the local and state library, and the importance of building the world for characters to come alive within.

I was looking for an introductory course that wasn't too expensive as I have just begun my first ever novel and wasn't sure what I needed to get started.

The course taught me that I have a lot to learn but also that I can do this. It will be hard work but it gave me confidence that I can write this story and get it published.

Nat was excellent. She always gave positive feedback and something to work on but only enough that I felt like I was continuing to learn, not feel down on myself and that I wouldn't be able to achieve my goals. She made me feel like I can do this despite my inner voice questioning my ability. Her advice to listen to everyone's feedback was invaluable and I learnt just as much, if not more. Thank you so much for your encouragement, Nat. As a new writer taking on a much bigger challenge than I originally anticipated, I really needed your positivity.

I loved getting feedback. There's so much to writing that I never knew and it's been great to learn some new skills.

I can see I have a lot to learn and I want my story to be the best it can be so I am very motivated to learn more. I have already signed up for the Novel Essentials course to help me reach my goal of publishing my story.

This is a great starting point. The message is always positive and the focus is on helping writers learn and improve so they can reach their writing goals. I'm really looking forward to the next course.

Petronella is very knowledgeable and a great mentor. She always provided helpful feedback in an encouraging way.

I really enjoyed the workshopping component. It was great getting feedback from Petronella and the other students. I learnt a lot from giving feedback too.

It's given me the confidence to keep writing my novel.

The advice to write the first draft as "brain vomit" (or similar) and then refine your story over subsequent drafts was really helpful.

Each day was generally a slightly different challenge which stretched and tested me. Sitting down to write was a commitment rather than a choice. The variety of the requests/instructions kept me on my toes!

If you show up the story will write itself (basically). At least in my case, it did. The characters took control - I like that!

The variety in how much to write, where to write, choosing a time to write (and think outside the box), was an eye opener. It changed my perspective and opened up new ‘ways' of writing.

If you want to develop your basic writing approach, do this course. You won't regret it.

I knew I wanted to write romance but I wasn't sure what kind of romance or whether to write romantic elements.

I enjoyed the pacing, the voice, the clear explanations of all the many forms of romance. The graphs explaining story structure were great. While learning about the variety of genres within romance writing was a bit daunting, this helped me work out where I might fit in and opened up some options I hadn't considered before. I enjoyed following up the book suggestions to get a taste of different romance sub-genres.

I realised just how much I didn't know about writing romance. It was a huge learning curve.

If you are thinking about writing a romance novel then this course is a must. It takes you through all its many forms so that you can decide which genre or sub-genre suits you. It helps you decide which kind of romantic leads you want to portray. It also teaches you crucial tools for structuring the novel and individual scenes for maximum narrative tension.

Just wanted to say how valuable the 30-day Bootcamp program has been. I was writing the first draft of my second novel and had hit a brick wall. I was stuck at 13,500 words. There were a number of reasons for that, but I knew I needed to progress the manuscript. Enter Bootcamp.

I decided to challenge myself and set a stretch target of double the word count noted for Bootcamp. The daily emails gave me the courage to keep going, the discipline and routine of writing every day helped. The messages of support contained in the emails also allowed me to sit down each day and say, just write. It's the first draft, so get it on the page. And yes, I did write on Christmas and New Year's Days.

I'm thrilled to say that I smashed my stretch target and in 30 days I wrote 57,123 words so my manuscript is now sitting at 70,623 words and almost finished. This would not have happened without Bootcamp.

It encouraged me to just write. Instead of overthinking everything, I was free to write. I'm writing a first draft, so the manuscript is just evolving, so let loose. This reduced the stress and enabled me to focus on the task at hand and not worry about what I would do in editing.

Just do it. The daily emails prompt you to action. The messages encourage you to write. This program gives you the freedom to just get it down on paper, worry about the editing process later, that's when you refine and craft the manuscript into something amazing, but you need to get it down first, warts and all.

Petronella was encouraging, and she gave me a lot of useful feedback.

It has made me believe in my abilities as a writer.

I had been writing opinion pieces for a column in my local newspaper since 2018 and wanted to learn more about journalism with a view to writing professionally.

I enjoyed being able to practically apply what I'd learnt in the modules by doing the exercises.

The course has given me more confidence in terms of planning and writing feature articles with a view to selling them.

Freelance Writing Stage 1 is an excellent introductory course for anyone wanting to become a freelance writer.

You learn a lot about pitching your manuscript and have a better understanding of your contract and how publishing works. I now have confidence in pitching and submitting my manuscript.

This course delivered everything I need to move forward in my own creative writing projects. Thank you.

I am more confident and motivated to finish a novel with the tools and knowledge I now have, and to write more. I now understand, and I can do this!

I would recommend this course to my writing friends.

I was exploring ways to make writing and creative work a stronger part of my career, and this course stood out as a practical, well-structured introduction to copywriting. The Australian Writers' Centre has a great reputation, and combined with the clear focus on real-world skills, made it feel like a smart place to start!

The course was extremely well paced and thoughtfully designed. It struck a great balance between being accessible for beginners while still offering plenty of depth and practical insight. Bernadette kept things realistic, up-to-date, and threw in humour and down-to-earth tones that were really engaging - thanks, Bernadette!

Bernadette was fantastic. Her feedback was thoughtful, constructive, and encouraging, and it was clear she genuinely engaged with each submission. She offered practical suggestions while also helping me see my writing from new perspectives. I learned a huge amount not only from her feedback on my own work, but also from her comments on other students' submissions.

The week-by-week structure was one of the most enjoyable aspects. The staged release of content and assignments reduced pressure while still maintaining momentum and providing a clear weekly deadline to work towards. I also really enjoyed learning from the variety of approaches and ideas in other students' work.

Bernadette has managed to 'demystify' a lot of the elements about copywriting that seemed intimidating or hard to get a grasp of. With the tools, the templates, the real-life examples and little assignments along the way there have been a whole lot of 'successes' already, which is great for confidence. And the final elements also which gave ideas, options and ways to actually go out and start getting work and networking with the information was a fantastic finish.

I'd say the AWC is a highly practical, supportive, and well-run place to learn writing skills that actually translate to the real world. The courses are thoughtfully structured, the tutors are genuinely invested, and you finish feeling more confident and capable.

This course was a great confidence-builder and an excellent introduction to copywriting. It's helped clarify how writing could fit into my career moving forward, and I'd happily consider other courses through the Australian Writers' Centre.

The course has shown me a plan/steps to becoming a writer, and how important this is.
It has also given me the confidence to take that first step, to give it a go, despite my fears. This may turn out to be a profound rather than a small impact after all.

Many novelists are not journalists or writers of another genre... but people with stories to tell. We will start at the beginning and I will have to face my fears in sharing writing pieces, but I will do it anyway.

From the outset, Pamela's knowledge and expertise were evident. She was able to answer every question the students asked, and was happy to offer personal insights, which put so many of us at ease. Pamela engages with student work to the extent she can readily recall story arcs as well as minor details - she really invests in understanding each evolving novel. Plus, in the Zoom calls, she is just a delight!

I liked that I could work through modules largely at my own pace and that there were multiple submission points, so I was required to keep my manuscript moving along. I really enjoyed applying new skills from each module and really understanding how they produced a higher quality of writing.

I will now share with people that I'm writing a novel! I've developed routines to support my writing and I know I have the skill set to complete my first and future manuscripts. I truly have confidence I'll 'make it'.

If your goal is to complete a manuscript to the best of your ability - and particularly if you want to make a career from writing - you cannot afford to bypass the AWC courses.

The admin and support team were always really responsive, positive and pleasant to deal with.

Mark is great with detailed feedback and guidance. The positive comments provided motivation that I could complete copywriting for myself for my own business. He was wonderful and responsive to my questions.

I enjoyed the explicit real-world connection to content and examples and how to go about getting the best out of the information. I was able to confidently register my business name and it helped me understand how to set up my business site.

The pitching process is very clearly explained and broken down into logical steps.

I now realise what I have been doing wrong. It has changed my attitude and approach to pitching.

Amazing resource.