What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I had been planning to do this course after Creative Writing Stage 1 mid 2023 but wanted to be sure that I had enough content underway to keep up. So I completed Writing Workout first, which was excellent preparation, especially the last module on preparing the synopsis. So I felt really ready for Novel Writing Essentials when it started.

My tutor, Petronella, was excellent. My impression is that she is a very talented writer and a talented tutor. Her feedback was extremely detailed, both conceptual and technical and very kindly pitched. She also was very warm, welcoming and positive. A really warm, encouraging presence. Near the end of the course, another student and I had the chance to attend the launch of Petronella's fourth book and it was fantastic to see our end goal embodied in this wonderful way. Petronella was a huge highlight of the course for me.

I found most enjoyable the momentum that the course structure and assignments helped me to build towards my first full draft. I especially appreciated how the last assignment of Writing Workout fitted so perfectly into the first assignment of this course. The (shorter version) work I did there and the feedback I received was really helpful as I improved my synopsis for the submission in this course. I found the content in the modules extremely enjoyable, especially around the technical aspects of a novel and writing. I enjoyed Petronella's feedback and some of the feedback from fellow students very much. It was very insightful and led to big improvements in my work.

The course definitely increased my confidence and taking myself more seriously as a writer. By the end of the course, I felt confident enough to submit my first 3 chapters, synopsis and chapter breakdown to the Richelle Prize. My chances might be very slim but as Valerie always says, 'you can't publish, if you haven't written it'. Equally, 'I can't win the prize, if I haven't submitted'.

AWC courses have a perfect blend of tutor led or self-guided and, being online, are fantastic for people who are building a writing practice around busy everyday lives. The courses are taught by published authors and other experts and provide excellent step-by-step content on the practicalities of developing a novel and writing it.

My next goal is to join the Write Your Novel program when I have 1/2 my manuscript completed (I have about 1/4) and I'm accepted. I love everything I am learning via the AWC.

The tutor was knowledgeable and interested in each of our stories even though very different genres, which I'm sure everyone appreciated. She was encouraging.

Workshopping and theory all in one! It really kept me accountable and now I have almost half my first draft written and I know where I'm headed.

I will keep going!! I will write this book! I needed this course to keep me accountable so I'll enrol in the next one.

Petronella was fabulous. She was supportive of everybody. Her feedback was constructive and insightful. She highlighted things I hadn't considered especially about family dynamics. It was inspiring to be tutored by someone who has written four books.

I enjoyed the interaction with Petronella and the quality of the content in the modules. I particularly liked the frameworks you provided that I could apply to my writing. The overall structure worked well and gave me the impetus I needed to get my word count up. One of the best pieces of advice I took out was the comment 'don't be too writerly' - just get the story on the page.

I thought it was great and worked well for me. I went from about 15k before I started to over 60k. That was way beyond my expectations when I started. Of course, the million-dollar question is - is it any good!! but I feel motivated to get it down on the page and trust the process.

The course gives you an easily accessible structured approach designed to help you take your idea and turn it into a story people will want to read.

I was very impressed with Nat's tutoring, both for myself and the other students in my class. Her feedback was always insightful, helpful and easy to understand.

I enjoyed reading the submissions of the other students in the course. It was interesting to see the variety and styles of the stories that were being written. I also enjoyed Valerie's audio lessons.

I would say that the course will help a lot because you will have your own work evaluated through "fresh eyes" that will see things you might not have been aware of, but that you will also have the chance to examine and give feedback on the work of others which can be extremely helpful. The information included in the audio lessons and handouts is also of great benefit.

I have wanted to write my novel for a while now. I had the idea but didn't know how to start it.

Nat was fantastic. She was incredibly knowledgeable. Watching her give feedback for myself and other writers was a highlight. I learnt a lot through them. It made me aware of the problems in my work, and how to fix them.

The most enjoyable but also terrifying part was the workshopping. I loved reading the other writers' work and their feedback for me.

I am quite a socially anxious person so the layout was perfect. I only wished it was longer. I truly didn't want it to end.

It has motivated me to keep writing, and has given me the confidence that I can write a story.

You must do it if you want to write a novel! The knowledge and the experience that you gain will change the way you look at writing!

I finished the first draft of a manuscript last year, and although I believe the storyline is quite sound, I struggled with depth in the characters and my dialogue needed work. I wanted to learn more about the writing craft to edit the draft effectively.

Nat was very clear when she addressed both of my submissions, and those of my fellow students. Her style in critique was constructive and delivered with humour and sensitivity. She clearly outlined the problems I had with character interiority, transitions and dialogue. Her advice was light bulb stuff, and I'm very grateful for her input. I recommend her for a pay raise.

Although I struggled with the synopsis, it was very helpful. Receiving feedback was good for both my confidence and hesitancy moving forward. It has given me confidence in completing my first draft for my new story and editing my first manuscript later on.

Thanks to Nat and the team at the Writers' Centre for all your help in my writing journey. Also, I loved listening to Valerie delivering the modules. They were clear and very valuable.

I didn't realise how much I didn't know about the craft of writing until I did this course. I gained a lot of basic skills and knowledge on what I needed to look out for and how to structure my story and develop 'authentic' characters.

Very useful for people who are serious about writing a book. The workshopping element of the course was pretty useful. Nat was also a great tutor and her insights and feedback helped immensely. Her feedback is on point.

A very useful course to do if you are serious about becoming a published author one day.

I found Margaret to be very positive and encouraging, but also constructive - which as a new writer made me feel like I can actually do this!

I really enjoyed workshopping with my fellow classmates and Margaret's feedback videos.

It's encouraged me to keep writing and reassured me that I can write a good story.

Margaret was lovely, and obviously very knowledgeable.

I enjoyed making some lovely writerly connections. Being exposed to a variety of different genres (that I wouldn't usually read) as well as writing styles. Receiving both Margaret and my classmate's timely feedback on my work in progress.

I now have the confidence to workshop my classmate's work, and the tools in my kit ready to move forward to Write Your Novel, and ideally - write my novel!

There is a course to suit nearly every writerly need, with fantastic course structure and wonderful tutors, as well as the opportunity to build your bookish community.

Margaret was lovely and had heaps of experience in the publishing industry. All the talks were relevant and well thought out.

I enjoyed the group work and feedback as well as the professional tutor review.

Everything was great. I had a great time!

I have a clearer structure to work on my story and a better understanding of what I need to fix in my writing.

Take the plunge! You have fun along the way and learn more than you expect.

Really enjoyed the two online meetups, and the connection to other writers via workshopping throughout. Nat is a great tutor and gave fantastic advice and direction. She was experienced and offered meaningful and useful direction and advice.

I enjoyed the expert tuition, the positivity and encouragement, the weekly podcasts and the accountability.

I am much more focused on getting the first draft finished and have made significant progress during the course by prioritising it above all else. I just hope I can maintain the momentum now!

We are all writers - when Nat said this, I switched over to being a writer, rather than someone who is fitting in writing around everything else.

Brilliant experience - would highly recommend. I'm sad it's finished, but will still go back over the podcasts to help maintain focus and motivation and will keep in touch with the other writers.

Bernadette was really helpful and provided great feedback.

I enjoyed getting feedback from my classmates and getting new ideas for my story. I came into the class with an idea for my story and left with a completely transformed story that took on a life of its own.

The Novel Writing Essentials course is really helpful if you're looking for support getting started.

I really enjoyed the practical nature of the course. I'm starting to learn how to build scenes and plan structure. This is a big step forward for me as I have never tried to write a novel before.

Nat was great and provided really insightful, helpful feedback. She was always respectful and encouraging.

I think the course would be very helpful to anyone who wants to learn how to write a novel.

I needed help to kick-start my writing as it had languished for far too long. I also wanted help with problems which were getting in the way of continuing to write my book.

Jenny was very helpful and knowledgeable as well as encouraging. Her feedback picked up a key issue with the beginning of my story on which I needed to focus. She also pointed out other more minor things to be aware of and keep in mind as I write.

I enjoyed learning more about plot, character, structure and storytelling. I was pleased to improve my understanding of these key areas of novel-writing. Giving and receiving feedback was also a very enjoyable part of this course.

I feel that I have a much better understanding of what is required to write a novel, in terms of effort, time spent and establishing a routine. This has been eye-opening and a good reality check for me.

If you want to learn more about writing fiction or non-fiction, build your knowledge and skills in the craft of writing, and believe in yourself as a writer, then do an AWC course.

Thanks for another great course! This has pushed me farther along on my writing journey and for that, I'm very grateful.

Jennifer was perfect. Prompt. Fair with criticism. For me it was picking over the fine points of the plot and that you can't get away with things.

It was great reading others' work. Seeing we all have the same difficulties and fears. Seeing there are some really good writers out there and I need to lift my game! Seeing what I liked and what I didn't like as much, and understanding why. It was great having other eyes on my writing. Seeing different opinions. Jennifer's opinion obviously was a big incentive to see if I'm on the right track etc.

I now know I have it in me. Having other (talented) writers reading my stuff made me really have to work on my own writing. It was much better after the course than it was before.

The course is essential. Better done sooner rather than later. Don't be embarrassed, we all started somewhere, better to get good, constructive feedback early and in a supportive environment.

I enrolled because I'd completed Creative Writing Stage 1 and wanted to keep going.

I thought Jenny was excellent and I totally trusted her experience and knowledge. I listened to Jenny's feedback on everyone's submissions and felt she consistently honed in on key points and offered really helpful advice.

I enjoyed workshopping - both giving and receiving feedback.

It increased my knowledge of the craft of writing in a big way and gave me the confidence to rewrite a one-page prologue into a 3000-word opening chapter.

If you haven't yet been published, start at the beginning with Creative Writing Stage 1 - even if you've already completed a manuscript (like me). There's a lot more to it than you might think!

I absolutely loved this course. It is the second course I have done and now I'm enrolled in Write Your Novel.

Great tutoring. The feedback was extremely helpful.

I enjoyed reading other people's work, workshopping and the accountability to keep writing my novel.

I have learnt so much about the craft of writing. Without this course, I would not know where to start or what I was doing.

If you are serious about learning the craft of writing or you want to write a novel, this course is essential to your journey as a writer.

I loved it and I can't wait to do Write Your Novel.

There was excellent content and I like the fact that the material is available for 12 months.

Louisa was wonderful and her feedback was extremely pertinent and insightful.

The Australian Writers' Centre offers focused and well researched courses across a very broad spectrum of writing related topics.

I wasn't expecting it but reviewing other's writing was a huge bonus and I learnt a lot about my own writing and how I could write better.

Louisa was great. She gave important feedback in a positive way that enabled me to take it on board better and understand how I could improve what I was writing. Louisa was very approachable and was inclusive, encouraging us all to listen to the feedback she gave on other people's writing which helped me pick up on how I could improve myself.

It got me writing in a way that started to emulate published authors - I developed a greater understanding of the different parts of a story.

I discovered I head hopped. I didn't even know what head hopping was but through the feedback session and the tutorial I figured out what I was doing wrong. Then I started seeing the same thing in my colleagues' writing, in the course. It wasn't till then did I start to figure out how I could change my writing practice and stick to one character's POV per chapter.

If you seriously want to start writing and find out if it is for you, doing one or more courses is important. I described it recently as "going back to primary school for writers." Through AWC I am learning the basics of writing that is hard to decipher just by reading books.

It's great having experienced authors as tutors and audios you can listen to in the car over and over - like Audible. Makes it time efficient.

The tutor was really encouraging, professional and constructive. I trusted her. Her comments made sense and gave unexpected insight into things I hadn't considered.

Having feedback from the tutor was paramount. Having deadlines kept me motivated. Feedback from others was great - because many appeared quite experienced. Feedback guideline parameters made it kinder to read the comments.

I enjoyed reading so many wonderful stories. I'm not alone in my journey.

If you want to learn, improve or publish your work check out AWC. I've been in other critique groups before which turned me off writing, but since starting AWC courses, they've got high standards in giving constructive, considerate, useful feedback - never destructive or demoralising.

Since 2017 I've been doing AWC courses and they continue to provide gold star (Michelin) standard courses.