What’s it like to learn with AWC?

The course was very informative. I enjoyed every minute. The whole thing. The information. The stories behind the information. The way it was presented.

I came out of it packed full of knowledge.

I enjoyed the simplicity of the filming, not too 'busy' for the eyes! Lots of material available for downloading, repeating of key messages which I believe is important for learning, and probably most importantly - clear definition of the various niches of media releases and the importance of tailoring.

I now have the confidence to try media releases for my work, in that it has demystified the task.

Excellent course. Very thorough. I enjoyed the detailed examples and Valerie's lively narration.

I like the fact that example books are listed; I have intended to read Ulysses for so many years and this has reminded me 😉.

I'm sure I'll come back to the handouts. Good to have them as a resource.

These essential courses are invaluable, and the concepts are explained clearly for those who are unfamiliar with the terminology.

I found the course informative and entertaining. The presenter was a wealth of information.

I use Scrivener but don't fully understand it. With this course, I learnt about some functions that will be very useful for my writing.

The colour coding function is very useful and I finally learned what the corkboard is for.

Comprehensive introduction to Scrivener for beginners.

I had previously only completed the Creative Writing Stage 1 course and thought this may be too in depth, but it is just what I needed to help me understand my story better and begin bringing it together.

The content was detailed, thorough and easy to absorb, and the handouts helped me get stuck into the meat of my story.

It has made me re-examine my approach to my writing and story planning.

The section on narrative tension and using story questions continually throughout the book really helped me understand how stories progress and how I can keep readers engaged.

As someone who is used to writing non-fiction magazine articles and other forms of telling, I initially found it difficult to understand what 'show don't tell' meant. This short course should be emphasised as a mandatory launching pad for anyone new to writing fiction, before starting other courses.

I first learned of 'show don't tell' from the writing picture books course. This seminar has now solidified in my mind the concept, and will ensure that my second drafts focus on reviewing my work with 'show don't tell' in mind.

I have read many books and never fully pinpointed what it was that made some of them enjoyable and others so-so. It is clearly 'show don't tell' that opens up the reader's imagination and allows them a front row seat to the action.

Pick up a course or two, even if you are hesitant. Worst case scenario you are exercising your brain's grey matter. Best case scenario you will trigger your creativity and make something that gets immortalised in print. For better or worse, AWC has validated my creative daydreaming and spurred me into action! I will be published one day, and I will have AWC to thank.

I enjoyed thinking about my past and sharing it with others. It seemed to make it more real.

I thought Nat had a very spontaneous and clear way of expressing her response to the work and thereby endorsing the writer's voice.

I actually cried when I understood there had been a lot of pain I had not allowed myself to feel.

The tutor was excellent with clear communication.

I enjoyed the opportunity to challenge myself writing new stories and learning about the picture book industry.

I have set up a schedule to research the children's book market throughout the year. My writing has become more concise and I'm adapting my writing style for children.

Have a look at what AWC has to offer and pick something. You have more excuses to write as the AWC has something for everyone.

I am a content writer but untrained. I wanted to see if I was doing anything wrong or missing anything.

It was a very informative course. Easy to follow. I think the template is very useful as a guideline.

I write for business but haven't been trained in it. I wanted to pick up on what I might be doing wrong and get clear on the rules.

I enjoyed the short format of each module. I think the course is very clear, concise and informative.

I challenged myself to follow the instructions after each module and upon completion of this course I now have a website! There were so many little things that I had never considered having a website such as branding, SEO and website maintenance but it was all covered in the course.

The modules were all short and very digestible for someone who doesn't build websites and was learning a lot of new information.

It gave me more confidence that I could be a published author.

The amount I have learnt over the past 5 weeks has exceeded all my expectations. I now have a solid foundation to continue to improve my writing. I am grateful for the detailed content of this course. I am grateful for the detailed feedback to my work.

I am excited to begin editing some of the work I have already begun with a clearer understanding of what a good children's picture book needs.

Australian Writers' Centre courses give their students incredible insight and knowledge into the world of writing and becoming an author.

I want to write a book and was in a muddle about how to get started

I really found it inspiring, and uplifting - really motivated me to get started, as well as showing me the practicality of how to create plots and plans for my writing.

I liked the art used to highlight and demonstrate points - as well as inspire, and I liked the strong pattern/formulaic approach.

I now really want to get started planning and writing my book.

I think this is an excellent course for someone who wants to write a book and is unsure about where to start.

This course was brilliant. The content sessions were rich, the exercises supported the application of theory into practice and Bernadette's feedback was illuminating. It really helped me to pinpoint both where and how to improve - invaluable.

Bernadette is a highly skilled writer and was able to look at my homework and give me clear feedback that helped me improve enormously.

I enjoyed the homework, weirdly. I enjoyed the content immensely however, it was exciting to try and put some of the ideas into action.

Strangely, I learned a lot about myself - in my PhD I was researching sensemaking and we have a phrase, you can't take the sensemaker out of sensemaking and that is so true of writing. I struggled with description yet leant into emotions. It has resulted in me practicing descriptive writing everyday with my own little ritual built around 'lingering longer'. This will undoubtedly help my writing as well as me personally.

The content sessions provide such an excellent and extensive explanation of the writing process and key considerations. This is the type of course that you could revisit many times and learn something new.

I have done a lot of writing courses over the years as well as being in a writers group and I found this course easy and enjoyable.

I liked Nat a lot - enjoyed the tutorials.

It's just given me the nudge to get back into it 😊

I was looking for a course to re-invigorate my love of writing and get me back on track with writing my book, which I had been trying to do for a few years now. I liked the fact I could do it online, as I also work full-time. I thought it was at a fair price point too - high enough in price to make it a worthy investment that I would be encouraged to commit to, but not so much that I needed to take out a second mortgage.

Bernadette was fair and reasonable and took the time to provide constructive feedback.

I really enjoyed the audio lessons, as I could take time to listen on a walk, on my commute etc.

I'd say that if you care about writing and want to improve, give it a go. There are always lessons to be learnt.

Very informative, clearly presented. Took so many notes. Helped me to get into process of writing a book/series for young readers.

Into my second book already!

Well worth it. I'm happy to continue courses in near future.

I like that the process has been put into step-by-step chunks. This made it seem less daunting.

Writing is a process, step by step, many drafts and that is okay.

If you want to learn about the craft of writing in the comfort of your home, these are the courses for you.

It's a great course. It has helped me to tackle the task of writing in a picture book format and become more familiar with this practice. I look forward to continuing to apply what I have learned here.