What’s it like to learn with AWC?

The toolkit David leads us through is very useful. I took time after each module to look through my notes, research and interviews to ensure I had really used my senses to listen to the person being interviewed, whether it was the primary source or secondary.

If you want to learn to hone your craft of research and writing then David Leser's course on Profile Writing is essential learning. I am not a profile writer, I'm a memoir writer, but I found the things discussed in the modules were relevant to my craft.

AWC seemed to be a beacon for me when I was a bit muddled with my 'completed' manuscript. Research showed all these fantastic courses and roadmaps for me - thank god for AWC!!

I enjoyed listening to the voice - easy to understand and listen to with a bit of fun thrown in.

It helped me pull the journey steps all together - a map for my journey.

Well worth the time, effort and money if you are serious about becoming a published author.

Seeing the success that past students had accomplished gave me the confidence that this was the right organisation to give me the foundation and building blocks I needed to get started.

Sue was great and her feedback was extremely valuable. It helped in guiding me in the right direction and gave me the confidence I need to move forward.

Valerie's audio lessons and her knowledge were fantastic. I loved that I could pause and take down the important stuff and also go back and listen to them when I needed to. It made me feel like I was in an actual class. I liked that we got to see each other’s work as I think we learn something from each other in that way.

It made me realise I can do this if I put my mind to it.

I learnt so much about the industry as a whole and have a huge respect for the established freelance writers out there. Now I am suddenly drawn to the magazine aisle in the supermarket and find myself buying print publications, which is something I have not done in years. Now I look at magazines in a different light, assessing their content and calculating freelance v in-house writers before I buy.

It has made me realise what my niche is. What I really want to tell the world about. I found my passion (apart from writing that is) so it's on to the next course to learn as much as I can to be the best I can be.

If you want to be a writer then the AWC is where you need to go to get started. They will provide you with the foundation, knowledge, skills, and confidence you need so you can catch that dream and start living it instead of just dreaming about it.

Looking forward to doing the next course with the AWC. This was a great experience.

I wanted to improve my writing and to develop strong self-editing skills. This course helped me to re-learn grammar that I took for granted and reminded me of others. The fact it was geared to fiction writing made it extremely worthwhile.

I loved doing the exercises. Which I am going to re-do on a regular basis to really entrench the learning and refine my writing skills further.

I am more aware of what and why I am writing in terms of the grammatical structure. I have actually written a few pieces while doing this course and I have already noticed a marked improvement and heightened awareness.

If you want to be a skilled fiction writer you need to do this course. If you think you are a crafted writer, especially if editing is not your profession, then you must do this course. This course will sharpen your writing skills.

I was looking to improve upon my media release strategy and success rate as well as qualify my experience.

The information was easily digested and I was impressed by the amount of support material provided. I will find these downloads very useful in the future.

Valerie seemed very knowledgeable and experienced with the subject and provided interesting examples to see the methods applied in various industries and circumstances.

I now know that my previous attempts were on the right track and the tips and advice contained in this course will refine my efforts and maximise the impact and success of future media releases.

The course was easy to access, the information was clear and thorough and I enjoyed the content.

I loved it all. It's been such a wonderful experience. I was diagnosed with clinical depression four years ago which pummelled my creativity into the ground. This course has helped me to tap into that again which has been incredible. I don't have the words (ironic I know) to adequately explain just how significant this course has been for me.

Stephen was fantastic. I loved listening to his feedback about all of our assignments. He gave really constructive suggestions and had a lovely way of dealing with assignments that needed quite a bit of feedback. I particularly like his style of 'less is more' as it made me really think about whether I needed to include a word or sentence. He was also great at engaging with everyone in the comments section.

I enjoyed igniting my love of writing once again. Sharing a part of myself with a bunch of strangers can be daunting but I loved every minute of it. I loved listening to the lessons. I loved the interactions with the other students and giving and receiving feedback. I felt quite nervous giving feedback at the start and would only really say what I liked but for module 5, I pushed myself to provide some constructive feedback and found I really enjoyed the process. And didn't feel at all mean as I thought I might!

I've learnt so much about writing... a ridiculous amount! It's hard to process it all but I think the information provided and the assignments given are fabulous and having access for a year means you can go back and listen and read all over again. I am so excited to keep going with my writing and in fact, after Module 3, I gave myself the challenge of writing a 200 word story about a place every day for a month and I'm absolutely loving it.

Creative Writing Stage 1 is the first course I've done with the Australian Writers' Centre and it far exceeded my expectations. The amount of knowledge that is shared over five weeks is quite extraordinary and the assignments are designed to make the most of all the knowledge you're acquiring as you progress through the modules. You don't need to have any prior writing experience for this course as you're given all the information you need along the way. I'm really impressed by AWC and have already registered to do another writing course starting next month.

Just a huge thank you to Stephen... he was such a fantastic tutor!

I wanted to explore the idea of moving from business and blog writing to creative writing - to see what creativity I might have hidden inside my brain.

I enjoyed learning that there is a structure or process to follow which for me made the idea of creating something out of nothing much less daunting and more achievable. I surprised myself with what I was able to write.

I am now writing a book - it may never be finished or published, but I am writing!

Give it a go, you may surprise yourself.

I wanted the flexibility of being able to do the course at any time and liked the idea of getting and giving feedback from other writers. I have really appreciated the detailed feedback I got from Bronwyn. She takes enormous time and effort to provide very helpful advice.

I had thought about enrolling in a writing course in the UK, but when I read poor reviews about the UK course, I opted for the Australian course, and I have not been disappointed.

The online format of the course suited me perfectly. I liked the recorded lectures and the class materials, which were excellent.

My online tutor was amazing. Her experience as a writer made her the ideal person to provide feedback. I also read the feedback she provided to other students and was delighted when we both observed similar things.

I feel that I have learned a great deal about writing. I have written as an academic before now, but this is my first time writing a novel. There is lots to learn and I am enjoying the process.

I also enjoy the connection with fellow students. I hope that we will keep in touch and continue to provide each other with support.

I have not written fiction or a novel before. Most of my reading and writing has been academic. Writing a novel is completely new and I feel that I have learned a great deal, but have lots to learn.

The course suited me perfectly. The hours were flexible; the course content was helpful; the tutor was wise, insightful and considerate; and colleagues were open and constructive in their feedback. It was also great value for money. I plan on taking the 6 months Write Your Novel course.

Bernadette Schwerdt is one of the most generous tutors I have had the privilege of learning under. Her ability to make the classes fun and informative is a real credit to her. The feedback provided was informative and well structured. I would take the opportunity to enrol in her future courses.

I enjoyed the fun we had with each other's submissions and Bernadette's stories. And the speed with which my copy improved, along with my confidence.

I now believe I have the tools I need to write well. To be able to write copy that people will enjoy reading. I now take the time to draft my material. I'm good at this!

The Australian Writers' Centre (AWC) has a wonderful website. Take a look for yourselves. The list of courses is amazing, and the online learning platform is the most user friendly I've experienced. Check it out and see what course resonates with you.

Just, thank you so much!

It's very nice to know how to use some of the features before plunging into a project.

I liked the structure and pace of the course. Although initially I didn't think I could do it but I did. I love the feedback process, and now understand the benefits of sharing your work with the group.

Bernadette is an excellent tutor who provides constructive feedback.

It was easy to follow; the resources and materials were very helpful.

I gained a lot of confidence to continue developing my writing skills. I am not novel ready yet but with practice I can get there.

I realised how important it is to enjoy the process, especially editing. Also, I have a greater appreciation for writers and how hard they work to produce a novel.

It's a great learning experience and so much fun.

I wanted to learn techniques to add humour to my stories. I heard a podcast with Tim and thought that he would be a wonderful person to learn from.

I enjoyed Tim's enthusiasm and light-heartedness.

I am thinking about how I can make scenes humorous by using some of the ideas that Tim taught me. When writing funny books for children it is okay to be silly and think outside the box.

The courses are practical and easily accessible. You can do them in your own time and truly help you to think about your writing.

Bronwyn was brilliant - made some fabulous feedback suggestions and a good dose of constructive criticism to really give you something to work with.

I enjoyed the networking with other students. Even though I was nervous about the idea of others critiquing my work, it's an invaluable tool in learning how to become a better writer. Likewise, reading the work of others, you can learn how they deal with things within their narrative and apply what you've learnt to your own writing

It's made me believe that I am onto something here, with my book idea, and I think I have the encouragement to continue. Up until then, I have been seeing it as just an interesting hobby!

AWC are great at cutting through all the noise within the writing landscape and getting you to focus on what's important. They provide a much required blend of focusing on your own words but also learning to become a better reader which in turn influences your own writing and makes you a better writer!

I'm now really excited to be commencing Write Your Novel with Bernadette this weekend!

I enjoyed the challenge and the online lessons that I was able to listen to anytime.

The AWC gave me the confidence and support to try something that I've been interested in trying for a long time.

I honestly felt the course was comprehensive, concrete and well set out. I would say that it was better than my Graduate Diploma in Journalism with regards to covering print journalism.

Sue was very supportive, encouraging and honest. She also has worked for noteworthy publications so has got credibility.

I enjoyed getting feedback from the assignments that we had. It was a bit daunting doing them but getting encouragement and direction was very helpful.

I think it's given me a new mindset on how to think like a writer. It was a refresher but also covered a lot of new ground.

Do it! You won't regret it.

There’s not a lot of writing programs offered for teenagers and the idea of direct feedback from a professional was very appealing.

I thought the tutor was very nice and clearly knew what she was talking about. I valued all of her feedback and her enjoyment of my work really made me more confident as a writer.

I enjoyed the feedback and the freedom of how it ran.

It made me more confident and gave my writing more structure, especially when it came to planning.

Thank you for the opportunity and I hope to try this again or try a similar program like this in the future.

The AWC website was INCREDIBLY welcoming for writers, particularly those who were either new or very rusty. The humour and constant words of encouragement sprinkled throughout the site, ads, newsletters and course outlines made it very approachable.

It was a little out of my price range at first, especially during COVID. Plus, obviously, the fear that I wouldn't take criticism well, even if it was completely well-intentioned! But I quickly deduced that it was a worthwhile investment, particularly from the AWC, so I saved up for a little while and put the money aside for when it opened up again.

I thought Bernadette was very fair in her feedback. She gave honest, actionable criticism for each of us.

I enjoyed the self-paced structure. The way the whole process was broken down into small, achievable bits. There's also a great sense of humour and "informality" with the AWC, which makes the whole process waaaay less daunting.

Receiving real, meaty feedback on my work helped me see the minor (mostly) technical flaws in my writing and allowed me to improve my skills. I can already see a difference to what I'm writing now to what I wrote even just a month ago.

The AWC seemed like a very welcoming, collaborative place, even online.

Hearing that it is possible has fed my fire for writing.
At this stage, I’m the only one that believes in me to do this, so reinventing myself is my support.

Bernadette is an engaging tutor with a wealth of knowledge.

Zanni provided kind, constructive feedback overall and seemed to look for the strengths in every piece.

The content delivery is excellent - the mix of handouts, audio and feedback makes for an enjoyable learning experience.

It has encouraged me to keep writing and makes me feel that getting published is not always easy but it is possible with preparation, practice, networking and by getting to know the industry well.

Thank you to Zanni and the AWC. I was very pleased with the decision to complete this course. It was enjoyable and I feel much more knowledgeable about children's picture books.