What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I'm approaching "retirement" age, and when I quit my day job I plan to write full time. So call this planning ahead, prepping, sharpening the saw, fitness training for the marathon...

The bonus module on multiple books was useful as I am planning a trilogy. So I won't forget you when I'm famous :)

I realised writing a story is more like building a house than writing a story.

When you learn to drive a car you need to take driving lessons with an expert. And even competent drivers take advanced driving courses. Continuous improvement until mastery is achieved.

It is my love for travel and new experiences that drew me to the Travel Writing course. The possibility that travel writing could become a way for me to have a creative outlet that may have a financial reward. I am at a crossroads in my career and I have an opportunity to change my career up. I want to continue to work remotely so a move into freelance writing appeals to me.

I have previously completed a AWC course so feel I knew what to expect from a course structure and interface standpoint. The content on Travel Writing for me was interesting. Realising that I could start from no experience and slowly work my way into the industry is encouraging.

I enrolled in this course with no expectation to take it further but to learn about the industry. I do however find myself wanting to set a few goals to see if I could possibly have a travel article published! I can see and feel it's a possibility and something I would be extremely proud of myself if I made it a reality. So my next step from here is reflect and make up some potential goals to see if I take this any further.

I find the course was great value for money, full of informative content and examples to put the two together. If you have any interest in writing there is a course to suit.

It was easy to follow and not too overwhelming.

I wasn't aware that publications used so many freelancers, so that gives me a lot more hope.

This course is very good for building confidence. It is well explained in simple steps and the lessons aren't too long.

It was a timely recommendation by a friend to kick start my writing interest. Also, the tutor profiles came across as experts and the course structure appealed to me.

Fantastic content, right pace and high-quality audio, videos and handouts.

The tutor was experienced and encouraging in all interactions. Thanks Charlotte.

Not a 'Nice to do' but a 'Must DO'.

I'm writing a romance story and wanted to know if I were on track and learn the trade otherwise!

I loved it. I learnt so much. Often lessons I didn't want because it showed the error of my ways! Thank you for all of your wisdoms and I look forward to doing another course when my manuscript is ticking all the boxes.

You don't know what you don't know and the courses at AWC really highlight that! There is so much to words, writing and books and the best people to teach you are those that do it every day. I'd highly recommend any course.

Learning more about how to write a children's picture book had been nagging away at for me for a long while. One day, while leafing through some new titles of picture books in an independent bookstore, I struck up a conversation with the lovely person who worked there. I told her that I wanted to write, and she suggested searching for the right course on the Australian Writers' Centre website. The course description matched perfectly to what I had been yearning to discover. I took the leap of faith!

The course delivered what I expected would be covered; i.e. it explained how to break down theme, genre, ideas, characterisation, plot/story structuring, pace, use of poetic devices, editing and polishing, etc. But, I was especially pleased at the minute detail the course covers in terms of understanding the publishing industry, and most importantly, how to write, edit, format and submit a polished manuscript.

Charlotte is a friendly facilitator who supports and celebrates up-and-coming writers. She was always upbeat and positive in her delivery of feedback, and her joy for children's literature would shine through when she read aloud the stories written by members of the course. Her written posts/comments and her audio feedback following an assignment were always delivered in a bright and upbeat manner, offering practical suggestions for how to further develop our work.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the weekly modules, as the course content is the right mix of engaging, rigorous and inspiring. Perhaps what sparked the most joy was finally allowing myself the time to write freely and creatively; to let ideas flow naturally and to apply my newfound knowledge in working towards a deadline each week.

The course has helped me to improve my focus on creating child-centric narratives that are grounded in themes and ideas that are relevant in a contemporary context. The weekly tasks have forced me to be more considerate and deliberate of my word choices to make my writing 'sparkle'. The experience has encouraged me to stop and listen when creativity calls, and to quickly scribble that new idea down!

The course is bountiful in revealing the best resources, practical avenues to pursue and skills new writers must master in order to have a fighting chance of their work being published. It lays down the roadmap for writing and inspires you to drive!

I am very grateful to Charlotte for her generous feedback and her positivity towards our raw stories. What a joy it has been to participate in this course! Thank you!

I enjoyed working on tasks, learning about each topic and also listening to Nat's well-constructed feedback and tips.

Nat was a knowledgeable, clear and animated person. Easy to connect with and learn from.

Every topic was new to me and I've learnt at least two or three things during feedback stage. How to write deeper into the text, add layers to the sandwich, via dialogue, scenes, senses, structure and more.

I had a manuscript I wanted to present to publishers, however recognised I had limited knowledge about writing and the children's literature industry.

I learned valuable language skills, that my manuscript was not ready, and that I have so many stories in me to develop.

Charlotte was very skilled in providing feedback on our submissions. She was encouraging and positive.

I enjoyed learning the new writing styles and applying them in the weekly assignments.

I have learned how to structure a story, what's important, the language to use. What to avoid and how to be a creative.

I have already recommended the AWC to my father. He has spoken about writing his memoirs for years, and I shared the AWC website and told him how much I was learning and enjoying the course.

I love writing stories and it is a dream of mine to write a children's book, so I thought it would be great to take the first steps towards it.

I was wondering whether I would even have ideas to write stories or whether I would even create a story. Surprisingly, all the ideas and stories came to me organically through the course.

I now know that I can write children's book stories and the course also rekindled my passion for storytelling.

The entire course been a revelation. My writing up until now has been of a technical nature. This will allow me to be more expressive.

The course will provide you with the skills needed to successfully enter a new career path.

I am currently working on a new book and I wanted to do the course to enable me to understand how to write creative non fiction, so this has been a wonderful course that has really helped me along the journey that's for sure! I have learnt so much.

The information was amazing and the topics covered everything. I enjoyed listening to each course recording by Valerie; she is exceptional. The podcasts were interesting too and I love studying so basically enjoyed the challenge of each module and how it made me think outside the box (whilst I am writing my 4th book). It's been so insightful and given me so much more understanding of writing in general and what to include and the vastness of ideas have come alive along the way too.

Opened up my eyes and understanding to so many factors - where do I start? Firstly, about writing in general, the structures outlined, ideas in storytelling, thinking more about characters, using dramatic tension, key elements of my story, what are the action points, plot, climax, where is it all going? I think it's enabled me to really analyse as a writer, the structure and the creativity of the story telling. I can be a brain dumper but it's made me go back over and over and really read and rewrite and be more creative overall.

Learning about structure has helped a lot, and writing including characters, especially hearing about how to write even from a theme perspective, which is what I am focusing on currently with my new book. I think asking the question how do I want to help others, or see transformation in their lives has enabled me to really think about each chapter leading them on that transformation journey and being more specific and bringing other characters into the whole story. Also helped me evaluate myself as I am writing, to be authentic and learn to express myself more, through scenes and storytelling and not just facts.

This course has been exceptional in every way and the creativity explored will equip any writer desiring to be their best and to grow in their skills as a non-fiction creative writer. The modules brought so much more out of me than I expected, got me outside the box of my own thinking to expand in so many areas of creative writing. It's been truly enjoyable to and so engaging all the way through. 100% recommend this course.

I've been self-publishing picture books but would like to take the next step and delve into traditional publishing. I've read a lot about this course and I wanted to give it a go.

I loved the structured courses and the ability to listen in my own time to fit my busy schedule. I loved the weekly challenges and the instant feedback from my teacher and peers. I loved the exercises and tips too!

Charlotte was a great tutor and provided useful feedback!

I now know the tips about showing not telling, using senses more and potent verbs and the power of three!

Amazing tutor, flexible learning and weekly tips and challenges that will boost your writing and creativity.

Lesley is a successful real world writer with expert theory and actual publishing success.

The course was clear and concise, well-presented and straight to the subject with no time-wasting filler.

Inspired me to continue as a lot of what was taught I had intuitively considered and applied to the stories I have in development.

I will be doing more courses...

Feedback was positive and helpful to take a different approach to my writing.

I enjoyed reading the wonderful stories other memoirists share - a kindred story.

Love the tips and advice given by Valerie and Nat.

The modules are succinct and the assignments are challenging. The writing tasks are great prompts for the beginnings of a memoir.

Absolutely amazing, insightful and great to learn from a successful author about how to be successful in the genre.

I enjoyed the other students' questions and feedback and the tutor's exercises and content.

I now have confidence to not hear the negative voices and to just write.

If you want a fun course to do to learn crime and thriller writing this is the one.

I will miss having the class on Monday's now haha.

Grant was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and engaging.

I enjoyed the examples/scenarios. I now have takeaways that I can put into action straight away.

The better the inputs (i.e. more instruction/direction) you put into AI, the better the output.

A previous course with Kate Forsyth had brought about in me an absolute connection and taught me so much. I instinctively knew this course would bring about the same responses.

Kate is a world class presenter and tutor who has the innate ability to fire my soul with her sheer passion and belief. I enjoyed her delivery of the material in such a passionate and interesting way. The insight into the history of story and storytelling, and how that has influenced how we tell a story today was most compelling and fascinating.

This was a lightbulb moment when all that I had leant suddenly became clear.

Just do not go anywhere else but the AWC if you truly want practical advice and a structure for writing.

The reasons I enrolled were threefold: to reconnect with a long lost passion of mine, to help gain some confidence and direction with sharing my story, and prove to myself that I can do hard things

I like the way Nat delivered her feedback. She'd compliment the overall work first before delivering any constructive feedback, and then end with a positive comment. I felt Nat was able to do this in a way that was sensitive to the receiver.

I enjoyed watching the feedback on everyone's writing, it helped to get different perspectives. I also really enjoyed the personal pages. I filled an entire 160 page book, and will continue after this course.

Facing my own fears of writing, having my voice heard, being vulnerable, and having other people read my work was really hard (to say the least), and this course was a much needed 'push' to help me start writing my story. It's helped me gain different perspectives.

I'm really glad I did this course. Thank you for introducing it :)

I was amazed by how much content was packed into the course. It covered far more than I expected.

I really appreciated Cathie's insights and found them valuable. She has such a wealth of experience to share. She was also good at honing in on some key points such as keeping texts simple, using the senses, and showing character emotion.

I enjoyed listening to the content every week, being able to submit a whole manuscript for feedback, and the extra homework exercises.

I've often been told my picture book texts don't have a picture book voice, ie that they sound more like junior fiction. This course finally helped me understand what that means and to put it into practice.

I have often recommended AWC courses! They are excellent value for money, packed full of information, easy to access, and a great way to get feedback on your writing.

Louisa is obviously an expert in her field and knew her topic back to front and inside out. She was incredibly diplomatic, patient and provided useful and positive feedback to course participants. She listened to everybody's questions and was incredibly thoughtful and encouraging with her responses.

Louisa is great. The people in the course were lovely too.

This course helped to re-start my love of writing.