What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Bernadette offered very insightful and crucial feedback, especially on my first submission. She was very encouraging and clear, which was very helpful

The course was very accessible and flexible. The podcasts and written materials were great. I think the subject and content of each module was spot on. Not too heavy, not too light.

The course has given me the courage to keep going with my novel. It has made me realise the magnitude of the task and given me some key clues on how to achieve that all-important first draft. The course has also made me feel I am not alone in this pursuit and there is plenty of help and guidance around, which is great.

I heard Bernadette Schwerdt on the So You Want to be a Writer Podcast and thought she sounded like she would be a great tutor. I was a little concerned I wouldn't have enough time each week for the course, but the workload was fine.

Bernadette was knowledgeable, friendly, and encouraging. I enjoyed learning the rules of copywriting and then getting in there and giving it a go.

The Australian Writers' Centre is your go-to place for courses on all forms of creative and professional writing. Each course I have completed has provided me with the comprehensive foundation, practical skills, and confidence required to seek work in the industry.

Thanks so much!

The feedback that I received on my writing: previously I have only ever shared my work with friends, who have always been 'too kind'! Receiving negative feedback (though delivered kindly) at first was unpleasant, but then actually made me realise that my work can be improved and potentially go somewhere rather than just languishing in a forgotten folder on my computer.

I just want to say again how much I enjoyed this course - although it was a short course, it felt very well-rounded and rich in useful information. Margaret was a wonderful teacher and I sincerely appreciate her feedback and advice.

AWC provides wonderful courses run by experienced and knowledgeable teachers. The advice they give is practical, honest, and invaluable, and I finished the course feeling informed and inspired.

I've started writing again in a serious and committed way.

I loved the checklists to help better know your characters, introducing them, and relationships between them. Will be using these a lot!

I enjoyed doing the mind maps. In fact, all the exercises - they were very helpful.

I very much enjoyed working with Sue. I enjoyed the very helpful, practical recorded modules and the ability to be able to go back and review.

I have focused mostly on adult fiction to date, but am now looking at how I can split my time (and personality! Just kidding!) to write something manageable for children.

It’s an approachable, practical and hands-on course that is both motivating and hugely helpful.

There's actually a lot to take in and think about; so I will go over the materials at a later date. It felt really comprehensive with heaps of tips and ideas.

The tutor was very encouraging and supportive. Angela took time to provide tailored, considered and constructive feedback to all course participants. Her writing experience, knowledge of the industry and passion for words shone through!

I enjoyed the actual writing of the assignments and meeting the challenge of keeping within the word limit - which forced me to edit (something I love to do!)

It's made me realise that I enjoy the writing process in and of itself. Whether it's pen to page or fingertips to keyboard, the actual act of writing opens up a channel of creativity which, in turn, can lead to sentences and stories that bring a lasting smile to my face.

There's more to writing than meets the eye. A story comprises so many elements – from point of view to turning points and much, much more – and a writer needs to understand all of these if they want to grab the reader's attention from the get-go!

Just do it! Find a course that speaks to you and enrol in it. You will learn a lot and much fun will be had as you do.

Really great information. I will need to go over it again as there was a lot but it provided a good grounding.

It has given me more incentive to take the next step and write and gain experience.

I enjoyed the bonus information about writing for big businesses. You never know where writing opportunities might be.

Absolutely excellent! I learnt so much. The editing examples as well as being able to ask questions was truly enlightening.

The industry knowledge was awesome. Learning about different techniques for writing was also great.

Helped with my writing hugely! I now have a lot more framework for what to consider when writing a piece and what to make sure to include.

You’re gonna learn so much! Don't let the price tag scare you!

I'm working on a first draft of a novel and had become a bit stuck. The Bootcamp sounded like a really great way to boost my writing and develop a more disciplined approach.

I was surprised at how disciplined I was completing the daily targets for writing. No one was checking in on me, so I guess I could have cheated, but I didn't because the course itself was so motivational - and I found I often wanted to write more than the daily word count!

I know I can complete my writing goals by setting myself daily targets, whether I am in the mood for writing or not. I also know that I CAN do 500 words in 30 minutes, even though I found this the hardest writing challenge of all. I'm going to start the course again and repeat it, because I just loved the structure.

If you want to improve your writing and build your confidence as a writer, do a course with the AWC! You won't regret it!

I have been working on the same middle grade/YA novel during NaNoWriMo for several years and have got stuck. I wanted something specifically to give me skills/knowledge for the age group AND give myself a kick in the backside.

There were so many aspects to writing for children/YA that I hadn’t considered. I had many “lightbulb” moments doing the course.

Stephen’s feedback was extremely helpful. Seeing his feedback of other people’s writing as well as my own was useful. I started to see the things I was doing in the other students’ writing too, which helped me to recognise where I needed to improve my own.

Online learning is great for me because I’m in a rural location and can’t easily get to the city for courses. Also, being able to listen to the audio repeatedly helps to cement things for me.

Zanni was knowledgeable, down-to-earth and kind. I thought she did a fantastic job and hearing the feedback was very useful though I was hesitant (just because of time constraints) at first.

I enjoyed the lectures and especially the course notes. It's a great to go away with clear, precise information that I can refer back to as I revise other manuscripts.

There were several concepts which I thought I understood (e.g. show don't tell, pacing, structure) but I clearly hadn't grasped them completely or wasn't applying them successfully. This course provided clear, straightforward instruction and practical advice. It has made a huge difference to my writing—thank you!

Great experience —well worth the money! Some of the concepts and advice will be familiar but the way the information is presented makes all the difference.

It's shown me in practical ways what I need to do to improve my writing. I had a gut feel before that, but this has highlighted specific ways I can improve. That's a relief.

Do it. It's a great resource to help write better.

The scope of the course and the fact that it was moderated by a published author attracted me together with the fact that the course covered all the areas I needed to understand in order to move forward with my writing.

I thought Angela was great and gave very fair/balanced feedback and where possible also provided additional information to illustrate her feedback which is always useful.

Having never participated in a writing course before, I found the interactions and the generous and encouraging feedback from the other online students really awesome. Lovely bunch of people.

As a complete novice I had no idea of the importance of preparation work and how it can drastically improve the process. The technical information was priceless. Loved it.

If you are thinking about developing your writing skills either purely for fun or for your career, AWC have a course designed for you. I found the process and the course so enjoyable and have no doubt that what I have learned on the Creative Writing Course 1 will be the foundation of my writing going forward. I plan to take additional courses in the next few weeks.

A fantastic introduction into the world of freelance writing. The course is well paced and each module builds on the previous one. At the end, you have the basics to get out there and start writing and pitching articles.

I love picture books and reading them to kids! Also wanting to write children's picture books but not really having any idea of where to start, apart from the ideas in my mind.

I realise that I knew very little about the constraints of writing picture books and this course has enlightened me.

I found Zanni's feedback to be constructive and delivered in a very positive way. The video feedback sessions were especially helpful.

It has motivated me to actually start working at writing rather than just thinking and talking about it.

Thanks to AWC and to Zanni. I look forward to many more courses with you.

I wanted to increase my motivation and confidence to start doing creative writing again.

I wrote pieces that I wouldn't have attempted before, and because I was actually thinking about writing, and the process around it, I managed to come up with the kernel of a possible novel idea that I'm now having a go at writing.

Have enjoyed reading Angela's comments on all our works, and picking up both very practical tips on "mechanics" of writing as well as on how well our story concepts worked.

I enjoyed being pushed to create. Often did so under the pressure of a deadline, which means I probably wouldn't have done so under my own steam.

I have started writing a novel! Even if it peters out after a few chapters, I've at least gone through the process of thinking about and defining characters, locations, a future state of the world and sketched out in my head at least some of how the story might work. I have also downloaded and started using Scrivener as a result, which feels like something that works for me in terms of adding structure to what I'm doing, and aligns with lessons in the course.

If you're not sure if you want to start writing creatively, this will really help you to make a more fully informed decision.

I knew I had a structure problem. What I didn't know was how to pinpoint exactly where the structure fell down, and how to fix it. Now I do know how to find the structural faults and fix them. In fact, I have done so in my book. Thanks!

I was interested to learn more about UX. Having a Zoom with direct feedback seemed like an excellent idea.

The presenter was absolutely exceptional. The entire group was very fun. Really supportive. Great group and vibe.

Great presenter and easy to follow knowledge which I can put into practice right away. Carli was very experienced in the field and very approachable.

Good real-life examples and easy to follow instructions.

I'm going to investigate UX and SEO writing further and make it a bigger part of my career.

Carli is an excellent tutor: well prepared and plenty of real-world experience.

I enjoyed the range of backgrounds of the participants. It was particularly useful to have a business analyst and front-end dev in the group. It was also interesting to hear from writers working in different sectors from me.

I feel more confident about what I'm doing!