What’s it like to learn with AWC?

The material provided was useful for improving my manuscript in terms of show, don't tell.

It made it clear that in my memoir I have too much telling. I started rewriting all the chapters I have so far so that I can show more than tell.

The AWC courses are useful, and The Art of Showing, Don't Tell is one of the most valuable courses I've purchased so far.

Pamela was excellent at explaining show don't tell. And also at giving examples and providing handouts that were clear and helpful.

It's given me plenty of examples about how to go about showing in a narrative, and also about when it's appropriate to tell. It has clarified it for me and given me motivation to try it out.

Kate provides both an academic and an operational approach in this course. While I could easily ascertain her process, she is incredibly generous with additional information and learning opportunities. Her preparation is excellent.

I saw the need to be more rigorous with my writing schedule, to be as detailed as possible about the writing journey (to understand changes in decisions), and, for me, one of the things that stood out most was that Kate spends a year plotting, planning, and researching BEFORE she starts writing the story. This is an excellent reminder that it will save time later.

Don't start writing until you have the story clear in your mind and have done the heavy lifting (plot, characters, conflicts, turning points, etc.). This resonated with me, and while it might not be how others like to work, it made sense for me.

AWC provides a range of practical, useful courses aimed at writers at different stages of growth, as well as those working across different genres. If you want to write, it is a great place to start... and possibly continue.

I love Nat. She's thorough, great attention to detail, funny and professional.

I enjoyed learning new skills about scene traffic lights. Learning further from comments on my own and other writers' texts.

I will go through my scenes and check that I have added and incorporated different aspects of the scene. I will pay attention to the story arc, the connecting thread between beginning and the end.

Get involved, you will learn a lot. It will help you with focus and you will become a member of a special group of people.

Kate explains well how she creates the plots for her stories. I had no idea where to start drawing up a plot, now I know how to begin.

The AWC teaches great specific information on what you need for story writing.

Amy did a great job of providing feedback to everyone. I enjoyed that you could hear and see feedback to all those who had submitted the assignment that week.

I learned that I can write, and I just need to keep at it.

Petronella was a wonderful tutor and incredibly approachable. She was open to hearing and discussing all story ideas and never once made you feel that your story was irrelevant or too outlandish. In fact, she only strengthened my faith in myself and my manuscript.

It was wonderful having such an experienced author like Petronella give feedback, and also meeting similar aspiring authors who were in the same boat as me and going through self doubt but wanting to better themselves.

To be honest the course was everything I imagined it to be and more. It covered writing techniques that I hadn't even considered such as POV, plotting and the techniques used to create relatable characters.

AWC courses are simple and easy to follow and they're not bogged down in academic jargon like one might find while doing a writing course at a university. Actually, I would say don't bother doing creative writing at uni. Just enrol at AWC. Their courses are current and relevant.

Highly recommend to anyone wanting to pursue their goal in writing their own novel.

I love Nat. She is fabulous and is both a captivating educator and provider of valuable feedback and recommendations.

It has got me drafting my novel regularly and made me really consider the research I was doing and ensuring I have a firm grasp on not only the main character but sub-characters and their development + world building.

Definitely beneficial.

I enjoyed Creative Writing Stage 1 so much that I wanted to go deeper. As a scientist, I didn't really learn creative writing, and it is great to learn it now!

I think the modules are very well paced and set up so that you can take several bites over the course of the week. Makes it manageable.

The tutor was great! I felt quite vulnerable at the start, and from this place had to get used to the feedback, but Nat had some really useful points to make, and I have better pieces because of her attention to detail.

Because I have now started, I have now got some reference materials like the handouts, and I can now check my notes or even the modules again to improve my writing even more.

I'll see you in the next one!

Bernadette was fantastic. She has a way of giving constructive feedback in a really encouraging way that leaves you feeling positive about your work, as well as motivated to improve on it.

The most enjoyable part for me was being able to hear all of the feedback for everyone as this can help me improve my own writing.

This course has opened my eyes to how important worldbuilding is, regardless of genre. Previously I thought it was a concept mainly involving fantasy or science fiction.

I'd highly recommend AWC courses to anyone interested in writing. They're a great way to get motivated and get started when everything seems too overwhelming. The courses with feedback also make you accountable. It's easy to forget about writing when life gets in the way, but having assignment deadlines helps motivate you to make the time, as well as gives you something to look forward to when the feedback arrives. The tutors are great and their feedback is constructive and encouraging. Best of all, at the end of the course, you've usually got a few hundred, or a few thousand words towards your story!

Valerie is fabulous and clear - this is gold, coming from an experienced journalist.

I'm now completely confident I can write media releases well.

I had a half-finished novel and really needed a community of writers to support me to finish it.

The feedback from peers was incredible

The tutor was a lovely person. Up for a challenge. No gratuitous praise.

A wonderful opportunity to test your story idea and have a deep look at how you are able to write it.

So much wonderful information. I feel as though my writing has improved at a micro/sentence level. Every week I learnt so much.

Thank you so much Nat, I loved the feedback videos. I learnt so much about writing. It helped to examine writing at a micro level to identify common writing mistakes. Nat is very good at constructive criticism. I felt encouraged with her feedback.

Amy was lovely and her commentary was great. She was very positive about everyone's work. It was definitely exciting to hear her feedback every week and very encouraging because she always had lovely things to say. I'm very grateful.

The live Q&A with Pamela Freeman in a Zoom was incredibly inspiring, insightful and really lit a fire under me. She was fantastic to talk to, ask questions with and she really made me feel like it was possible to be an author.

I have been very happy with Amy's guidance and advice on the work that we submitted. I found it very helpful and will take what I have learnt into my writing efforts.

I loved the relaxed feeling of the course, a safe environment to flex the artistic muscle.

I feel that it has helped me understand how to craft a scene and what I need to do to write a novel.

I think that this course helped me to take separate pieces of knowledge or skill and put them together to create a fully fleshed out passage of writing.

I enjoyed this course immensely. It was interesting and challenging and I felt I learnt so much along the way.

Margaret is a true expert in her field. She was polite and respectful and encouraging towards the students and their writing attempts. A very positive experience. Great feedback - she was able to highlight issues so easily and offer constructive criticism.

There was so much to learn and I absorbed it all like a sponge.

It made me realise the complexities and nuances of the writing process. Writing a picture book is not as easy as it seems.

I would encourage everyone who wants to write to apply for an AWC course. There's no pressure but it was so worthwhile

I just want to say how wonderful this course was. Every Monday morning I looked forward to opening the next module. I feel I learnt so much and that I have so much more to learn and practice. A truly amazing experience.

I loved the feedback from Margaret. It's great to have a real editor as that has strengthened my writing and I am now aware of any defects.

I'm a better writer and I know I can finish this novel.

A good course to do if you are serious about writing a novel.

I really enjoyed the structure of the course. The information was just the right level for a beginner's course.

I really enjoyed Amy's feedback. A great mixture of encouragement and constructive comments. And she had no issues with answering our questions quickly and clearly.

Finding out that I don't need to reinvent the wheel was pretty encouraging! (In other words it's possible to learn the basic principles of writing a novel and not have to take a complete 'hit and miss' approach). I particularly liked that the information was presented across the spectrum of writing for personal enjoyment up to writing with an intention to publish.

Rather than thinking that writing a novel is an unrealistic fantasy I now think I have a scaffold I can follow, and am planning to give it a go.

Just write a draft and don't obsess about editing to perfection. The desire for perfection has pretty much kept me from progressing so I feel encouraged to be able to move beyond my previous stalemate. I also loved learning that many writers write a novel that isn't published and this is not unusual. For some reason knowing this is like a pressure valve release and makes me more willing to give it a go!

I have been recommending the Australian Writers' Centre! I have said to friends and family that it's a great, safe, pressure-free way to explore whether writing is something you want to progress with.

Just a very big thank you for providing such an enjoyable and accessible course!

Very clear. Great presentation and supporting materials. Able to use the information to develop my characters further, fleshing out my antagonist's personal attributes and back story.

I have continued to sing your praises to my friends after every course I have completed.

Thankyou to AWC and especially to Pamela.

Loved Nat's feedback. She is so clear and insightful in her assessments. I'm now considering the possibility, that I might be a writer!