What’s it like to learn with AWC?

My tutor was absolutely fantastic. Jenny has been incredibly helpful and provided many important insights that I have incorporated into my work.

I enjoyed workshopping and building a community. Everyone has been really encouraging.

Every lesson and workshop provided me with the information and support I need to take my writing to the next level. Without the support of this community, I would not be as far into my novel as I am today.

I have a lot more confidence in my writing. I would probably have given up by now if not for the course.

Thank you!

This course gave my writing direction and focus and helped a lot with giving my characters a voice.

Excellent feedback from Cathie as well as good ideas about which books I can buy to assist me in my writing. I really appreciated Cathie's individual attention to my work.

I started the course with some random chapters; I now have a main character with a strong voice and a direction for a novel.

If you're thinking of writing a novel you need to take this course so you don't waste time waffling about without focus.

I wanted to get a solid start on my novel, hoping it would steer the rest of it in the right direction.

At first, I was nervous about presenting large pieces of my writing to others for open critique, but everyone is all in the same boat and just wants to work together to improve their writing.

I really appreciated Cathie's wealth of knowledge and her specific feedback. It's great to work with someone with such experience and know-how in the industry.

The course has helped me to refine the synopsis, and target areas of writing such as deep point of view. It has helped me to keep writing and work on the story plan. I am motivated to continue and finish.

Jennifer was able to see things in the group's submissions from a much more professional point of view. It was very interesting to compare her critiques and feedback with my own. Her feedback for my own work helped to clarify some important points and, most of all, encouraged me to keep going.

Well worthwhile. You will learn a great deal about the craft of writing.

I came into the course with specific objectives and the course allowed me to meet them.

The tutor was helpful and encouraging, feedback and suggestions very useful.

If you don't know where to start, lack confidence or are completely terrified by the thought of writing a novel, this course will help you on your way. By the end of 10 weeks, I had a complete first draft - rough as guts, only 30,000 words, but the story was on the page, ready to be fleshed out and worked on (using the various tools provided during the course). I am now well and truly on my way, thanks to my tutor, the other writers I met through the course and the AWC.

Very impressed with the online learning platform - it's awesome.

Jenny was absolutely fantastic. Her feedback was very insightful and she expertly pointed out areas for improvement and what was working well with my story. Her knowledge and passion for writing was evident and her enthusiasm to help her students was clear to all. I even learnt so much from her reviews of other students' work. Thanks Jenny!

I really loved reviewing the other students' work. We had such a diverse range of stories and I can honestly say that all were enjoyable to read.

I feel like I am finally finding my authorial voice in my story.

I would definitely recommend the Australian Writers' Centre. The course structure, the online learning platform, and the tutor were all easy to use and professional to deal with.

I really enjoyed all aspects of the course. The discipline required each week really helped me progress my writing.

Jenny was awesome. She provided very constructive and fair feedback as well as plenty of support to our entire group. It really is a major benefit of the course to have an experienced and accomplished author to learn from. I greatly appreciate the work required from and inspiration that Jenny provided us. Thank you.

I loved providing and receiving feedback. I was a little hesitant to at first and had to develop my skills at providing supportive and constructive feedback, but I feel I developed this skill as the course progressed. I really enjoyed receiving feedback from both Jenny and my fellow students.

I also looked forward to each Monday when a new module became available and I don't say this lightly as I use to hate Mondays.

I now believe if I work hard, I have a very good chance of getting my novel finished and hopefully published. I've always wanted to be a writer but never had the discipline to follow through with it. This course has taught me the discipline required and dared me to dream!

Thanks to the entire AWC team for making this course an amazing and pleasurable learning experience. Abby with her cheerful, helpful and responsive email replies and presentation hosting, Nat with her support for following up our reviews. Valerie's audios and inspiring weekly emails and the rest of the team who work behind the scenes. I really appreciate everybody's efforts to make this course such a rewarding experience.

Jen was awesome. Very honest and open feedback.

The main thing I loved was the variety of feedback I received on my submissions. It was truly helpful. I found my strengths and weaknesses very quickly and I now know what I need to focus on in my future writing.

The AWC is an accelerator for aspiring writers with education, community, and accountability built in!

I completed the Creative Writing Stage 1 course and enjoyed that process. I was hesitant about sharing my writing - not knowing what to expect.

Pamela was great! She provided great constructive feedback and was always available to answer any questions.

The best part about the course is all the feedback on our submissions, and not just from the tutor but from the whole class. It's just so valuable!

I am more motivated to continue writing and I can actually see a way forward to completing my book.

For anyone thinking about writing a book, this is the course to do. Even if you know most of the theory, it's also great to just put you in touch with other like-minded writers.

The feedback I received from Angela and my fellow writers was invaluable in helping me to progress my memoir. Angela was very thorough and provided effective feedback on what was working and what needed attention and, more importantly, how to address any problems. She was warm and approachable as well as being professional which is a great combo.

I completely changed the beginning of my memoir based on the feedback of Angela and other writers. This has changed my course profoundly. I wouldn't have seen it if I was flying solo!

A great big thank you to Angela and the AWC for the wonderful experience that this course gave me. Much appreciated and best wishes to you all.

I'd say if you want to learn the craft of writing or you want to write a book, sign up with the AWC - it'll take you forward on your path.

I gained invaluable information about aspects of writing that I thought I already knew. The modules were easy to follow and I appreciated the reinforcement of some of the critical messages - it really helped me a lot.

Angela was very helpful and positive in her feedback. I appreciated the extra info she posted in the Course Chat regarding particular aspects of writing.

I enjoyed having a focus and developing a method to my process of writing.

It has made me realise I can write a novel, and given me some fantastic knowledge and tips to help me get there! I particularly appreciated becoming more aware that the self-doubt and problems writers face are universal (more or less). I've also enrolled in the Write Your Novel course.

This is a great course to gauge where you're at in terms of writing because others will read your work and critique it. You will learn techniques and tips to help improve your skills, and gain a better understanding of things you might've thought you already knew. If you're serious about writing a novel, this will really get you going.

I really wanted to have others read my work and help me to see where my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer. I also really wanted to make writer-friends.

I was worried about being able to give helpful feedback as this was my first time in a workshopping group, but as the course went on I actually learned from the others in the course how to give better feedback. It's given me more courage to share my writing, and also to just write!

It was seeing the different feedback being given by the other students; some were confused by aspects that others loved, some thought certain passages were too long whilst others thought they were just right. This course has really taught me that feedback/criticism is subjective and will always be affected by personal preference to a certain point. This revelation has actually made it less daunting for me to share my work and leave myself open to criticism.

AWC offers a range of courses suiting all stages of experience and interests. The course wasn't overwhelming or intimidating, and the lecturer was approachable and helpful.

Angela was a very considerate and kind tutor who gave excellent feedback and ideas on how to improve our writing without burying us in the ditch, so to speak. She encouraged me to keep going and I learnt so much from her about the craft of writing. I thought I knew how to write but I found out I knew so little. Thank you, Angela.

The most enjoyable thing about the course was that I began writing and found that I loved it. It sounds funny but I think I actually learnt more from giving feedback to others rather than receiving it. This feedback part of the course is possibly the most valuable part.

It has taught me to write every day. Even if you have nothing, sit down and write through it.

I would say that you will not regret joining one of these courses. You will learn a lot and also you could possibly make lifelong friends who can help you with feedback on your writing. I would say DO IT!

Thank you , thank you, thank you.

Angela is very knowledgeable and cares for us students and our writing. Feedback is thorough and constructive and there was always an extra link to an article or information on what we were struggling with - for example, POV for me.

I enjoyed reading my classmates' stories and learning a new skill - tracking changes in the document and giving feedback on a fellow writer's work.

At first, because I was nervous about people reading and commenting on my work, I submitted a story I started writing about 7 years ago and wasn't sure what I was doing with it but the feedback and writing practice has been invaluable and I'm strides ahead from where I was before joining.

I'm very conscious now about what I write, even if it's a text message! I'm not so blasé with just throwing words out there. I've learned so much about how to structure a novel, create scenes, describe characters, all these things that I was not aware of before. I feel excited to keep writing.

The AWC is a professional organisation with excellent content in their courses, great teachers and you will definitely learn something new. I highly recommend you do one of the courses that interests you.

Thank you and 8 weeks flew by!

Angela was great! She provided really thorough feedback, which struck the right balance between encouragement and constructive criticism. The extra links and resources she provided were helpful in giving extra context.

I was surprised at how much I learned from workshopping with other students, not just my work but from theirs. I also loved that this course gave me structure and accountability for my writing practice.

It's given me more confidence in my writing ability, more confidence in sharing my writing, and a brighter hope that I can actually finish this draft!

If you want to take improving your writing seriously, go to the AWC.

I had no hesitation in enrolling for this course. I loved the idea of a self-paced course with AWC. No set time, 12 months to do the course. AWC sending the course outline before I decided to go ahead was very useful. I suggest to anyone wondering about doing a course at AWC: Give it a go and delve into the writing world. You will be amazed at how much you learn, giving you the motivation and skills to finish that story that needs to be told.

I really enjoyed all of the lessons and exercises, and found that I learned an enormous amount. Angela is very knowledgeable and supportive. The extra tips she provided were really valuable.

I enjoyed reading most of the other participants' work. As you predicted, I learned a lot in forming my comments on their work, because it also helped me to reflect on what that might teach me about my own. The comments from others on my own work was really useful because other eyes picked up all sorts of things that I hadn't seen. Angela's comments were also very valuable given her experience and expertise.

I made significant progress with the plot of my novel, and learned a huge amount about characters and plotting.

A great blend of incentive, inspiration and fabulous course materials.

Nicole's feedback was excellent. Her queries and concerns about my pieces were spot on. She was encouraging too and made me feel I wanted to continue writing my novel. The right encouragement is so important for an emerging writer like me. She also was extremely knowledgeable about the genre I was writing in (YA), which was very lucky for me.

I liked workshopping other writers' work, providing feedback from a reader's perspective and offering suggestions. The writers in my group were kind and supportive and helped me by providing feedback about my own writing too. Getting feedback from Nicole, our teacher, about my own work was also a highlight, and I learnt a lot from listening to what she had to say about the work of the other writers in the group too.

It has given me confidence and has motivated me. I know that I will continue to write this novel now.

Do an Australian Writers' Centre course! The teachers are wonderful -- knowledgeable, experienced and supportive -- and you'll meet fellow emerging writers that will keep you interested in your own writing and the craft in general.

I had completed the 'How to write for Children and Young Adults' course and it was excellent, so I was excited to continue on my writing journey with AWC.

Angela Slatter is very knowledgeable and provides real insight into the art of writing. Angela also provided constructive, direct and real feedback in a respectful manner. I feel like I learned a lot.

The course material was excellent. However, the part I enjoyed most was the actual writing, giving and receiving feedback to/from fellow writers and Angela.

Since I was 8, I had always imagined I would one day be a writer... that dream moved further and further away. However, this course has provided me with some real tools and I feel like it has finally kick started my writing journey.

If you want to write for fun, if you want to make writing your career, if you just want to kick start your creative side, there are a host of courses with AWC that might benefit you. This course could be the start of your writing journey.

I wanted to push myself to write more and to hit the 20,000-word mark. I also wanted constructive feedback from other writers. I was nervous about not being good enough but it ended up being a very supportive environment.

The feedback from Angela was extremely helpful. She opened my eyes to things I hadn't noticed and gave me some things to focus on. I felt she was very thorough. Her feedback is invaluable.

It pushed me to write! I am writing more than I ever have. It's motivated me to get a first draft done.

It's a very supportive, non-judgemental course.