What’s it like to learn with AWC?

My career advisor had suggested I look for a career that was 'creative and literary' so I started researching courses and careers online. When I discovered the Australian Writers' Centre I was absolutely delighted. I wish I'd discovered this course years ago! The structure and content looked brilliant - extremely professional and well thought out. I also was inspired by watching the videos on your website by people who had never written professionally before but could do so after completing this course.

I was worried what I would do if I wasn't any good at it but decided to be brave and give it a go!

Vivienne's feedback was invaluable. She was constructive in her detailed feedback but was always encouraging and positive.

I loved the podcast aspect to the course. I downloaded the relevant documents on a Monday, read them and then was able to go out for a walk, listening to the modules. This helped me to really absorb the information. My favourite assignment was interviewing one of my classmates - it really helped to get to know another person on the course. I also enjoyed the feedback in video clip format. It was great to learn from other people's assignments too.

It has given me the confidence to believe that I can embark on a writing career. It has unlocked a door into the creative part of my brain - I find I'm always thinking of ideas and wondering how I could write about them. I discovered that I love writing descriptive hooks and I'm contemplating doing the creative writing course as well.

Absolutely go for it. The courses are so well thought out and carefully structured. You won't believe how much you can learn in 5 weeks - it's intense!

The course has taken me from knowing nothing about freelance writing and how to go about it to knowing so much more and feeling ready to pitch to editors. I am writing pitches this week to send off and start my journey - very excited!

Vivienne provided detailed feedback on each assignment in a very timely manner.

I wasn't sure exactly what freelance writing involved and if I'd like it. It wasn't what I thought it was, but it turned out to be something much better!

The tutor was very honest and thorough, and I knew I could trust that she would actually go through what I'd written line by line and let me know if it could be better.

I've found something new that I think I can do and might be more suited to than what I was previously trying to do.

I wanted to explore the world of freelance writing without committing to a uni course.

I thoroughly enjoyed having Vivienne as a tutor; she was fair, encouraging and knowledgeable. Her feedback was constructive and helpful. I enjoyed the self-paced learning and receiving feedback.

A major 'Aha' moment has been realising just how many freelance writers contribute to publications! I feel confident to pitch to editors and read articles through a different lens now!

Thank you! As a novice writer I was sure I would feel out of my depth (especially given the fact some people in the course are very established writers!) but Vivienne made me feel welcomed and her feedback was constructive and useful. The course itself was easy to understand and gave me great insight into the world of freelance writing.

I really like the structured nature of the learning experience, and how each module is broken down into achievable chunks which fit into my day.

I have a much better understanding of what freelance writing actually involves, and how accessible it actually is.

I would say AWC courses are practical, detailed and collegiate, and are absolutely worth taking.

Thank you for putting on these courses - they really are fantastic.

The tutor was clearly knowledgeable and was able to give positive feedback that supported future growth; she really enhanced the learning experience.

I enjoyed the assignment feedback. I also enjoyed listening to the course content; it made it far easier to manage the course.

I emerged from this course with the confidence to start writing and pitching straight away. I feel like being a writer is actually possible. What a gift that is indeed!

A huge thank you for bringing a little joy and helping to shed the self-doubt just a little.

I wasn't sure it would teach me much (ha!) but of course it did as it went to the nitty gritty of feature writing and getting a story published.

I really enjoyed the course and it was manageable even with a full time job. The course taught me a lot of seemingly incidental information that wouldn't have occurred to me and covered all the easily missable details that will make all the difference as to whether you get commissioned as a writer or not.

Vivienne was lovely and approachable. Her feedback was very professional, constructive, supportive and HELPFUL!

How to write a pitch was fantastic. Also, structuring an article - just like having to structure an essay. The fact there are rules to follow, learn the rules, follow the rules, work hard and you will succeed.

Accessible, value for money, run by professionals. Short, manageable and to the point.

Vivienne was very helpful and encouraging and gave very detailed feedback. It really made me understand the importance of drilling down into my writing word by word.

The assignments were so well supported by the earlier module material, I always felt supported in doing them.

This course has been a catalyst for my career change!

Comprehensive and encouraging. Everything was covered. Taught me the value of transitions. Step-by-step showed me how to put a feature together.

I found that doing the course highlighted my strengths, but much more importantly showed me my flaws in a professional way. Now I can confidently work hard towards being a published writer.

The Australian Writers' Centre is professional and exceeds expectations. Their approach is systematic, designed to get your work to a professional standard and published as soon as possible. I intend to continue training with them as long as necessary. The courses are well priced and within the reach of most people (I'm a pensioner).

The online tutor Vivienne was absolutely wonderful. She exuded calmness and warmth in her welcome video and consistently gave useful, constructive criticism using the 'psychological sandwich' approach (positive comment, constructive comment, positive comment). Vivienne acknowledged every student's comments by liking them and responding to them. When I asked a couple of questions in the chat section the responses that I received were really comprehensive and helpful. Vivienne was also generous in sharing personal anecdotes about her freelance writing journey where appropriate. Just a wonderful, wonderful tutor.

The course was well paced and accessible. The materials were of a high quality. I liked listening to Valerie's audio in each module. She goes through the materials in a comprehensive and engaging way and often uses humour to illustrate or emphasise certain points, which I loved. Valerie is generous about what she knows and extremely positive and encouraging.

I now understand how to write a good hook, the importance of transitions and how to 'show rather than tell'.

What I really appreciated was the idea that you don't have to be the best writer in the world, that what is crucial if you want to be a freelancer is that you are reliable, submit work on time and write to the word count (or a little over).

The AWC freelance writing course is excellent. The course content is of high quality and student learning is scaffolded each week as one module builds on from the next. I cannot speak more highly of our tutor Vivienne who created a warm and safe learning environment from the outset, and who provided feedback on written work which was insightful and constructive. Usually in life I do things the hard way and was researching expensive professional writing degrees before I came across the AWC freelance writing course. I am so glad that I settled on this course because in five short weeks it has given me industry knowledge, practical skills and the confidence to make a start on my freelance writing journey.

Just a truly wonderful course! Thank you.

I appreciated Alex's real-world experience and knowledge that influenced her feedback. Her insightful and thoughtful assessment feedback gave me insight into what an editor is thinking and wanting to see from my work.

I really appreciated the video recorded feedback about not only my work, but the rest of the course participants. This allowed me to not only learn from my own assessments, but also from what everyone else was doing.

I've started seriously working towards my freelance writing career and I'm working on my first article and pitch email since the course's completion.

Valerie Khoo's informational, interesting and honest course content is to the point, easy to digest and enjoyable. You can hear just how passionate she is about the industry and really wants to see the best from us. She is a great person to look up to for inspiration throughout the course.

I am interested in changing my career to being a writer and, being new to this, I thought to start with Freelance Writing.

I liked the ability to do each module at my own pace and having some written material as well as audio. Having the assignment each week was a great motivator for me. Alex was very helpful and always prompt with her feedback on the assignments. I liked listening to her audio assessments of each person's writing. It was a really useful way to learn.

I learnt a lot of things about not just feature writing but writing in general. Especially the use of transitions.

If you're interested in learning to become a freelance writer, then the Australian Writers' Centre is definitely the way to go. The course is well-structured and packed full of useful tips and information on every aspect of freelance writing. It is presented in an easy-to-follow format on a week by week basis. And we learnt things such as analysing a publication to structure your story accordingly, and how to pitch a story idea to an editor and send an invoice for your completed work. I thoroughly recommend this course to get your freelance writing career started.

Thank you to everyone at AWC. Especially Valerie and Alex for their time and effort in making the course easy to follow, low stress and so very instructive.

I did initially worry that I wouldn't be able to commit to studying each week as it's been a long time since I enrolled in any type of course, but I was able to fit the modules around my hectic daily life.

Vivienne gave good, professional feedback and allowed me to see my writing as a reader/editor would. I tend to get very close to what I'm writing but Vivienne's comments and suggestions showed me that I need to focus on what the reader wants, not what I think they want.

The course has shown me that I have something to offer with my writing, and that what I write can be valid and valuable to readers.

Well presented, knowledgeable content with a relaxed but professional atmosphere.

I really appreciated that there was no ambiguity throughout the course. I knew exactly what to expect from the course and what my responsibilities were throughout.

Cindy was a highly professional, friendly and approachable online tutor. She promptly provided feedback each week and I found her feedback to be friendly and encouraging but also very clear in what was needed to improve. I really appreciated both the positive and constructive feedback as I knew nothing of the freelance world before enrolling and learnt a lot from the feedback.

I found the whole course to be enjoyable. Every week, I really looked forward to the next module. I loved the recordings and that I could rewind again and again if something wasn't clear to me at first. I liked that if I had follow-up questions, I could pose these to the tutor. I enjoyed getting to know the other members from the course and hearing the feedback each week.

This is the course for anyone who wishes to be a freelance writer or refine their article writing skills. It takes the big, wide world of the media and breaks it down into practical and easily digestible parts so that everyone has a clear understanding of what knowledge, skills and actions are required to step into freelance writing.

After completing the course, my plan is to have a red hot crack at the freelance writing industry and see if I have got what it takes.

Thank you for the great opportunity to be a part of this course. It was fabulous and I look forward to completing more courses in the future.

The course is great. It's easy to follow and the audio is in bite sized chunks so you can get through it without having to commit to hours at a time.

The tutor was amazing. Alex provided fantastic feedback on the assignments I did do and I learnt a great deal from the feedback she gave others as well.

It's made me a better writer in general, especially in my workplace. I now think of things and review before I hit send.

Highly recommend, the courses are great and very practical.

I really appreciated the very hands-on practical side of what to do to become a feature writer, industry insights and tips of how to structure feature articles.

I appreciated the tutor's honest and direct feedback. Seeing her article in SMH recently was also a boost.

I feel I know what to do but now I just need to be brave enough to get out there and to also have confidence in my writing ability.

Thank you for the generosity of knowledge and dedication to quality work.

I have done other AWC courses and knew I would receive just what I needed to get a head start in freelancing and moving my career in this direction.

The video feedback was a first and it was just as helpful as the written feedback from other courses.

I was always going to do freelance work but I am much more confident in the next steps and making a start that avoids rookie mistakes and poor habits.

The pitching audio 5.1 was a great guide to the next step for me after the course, as I have several articles on the boil.

Just do it, do it, do it. You never look back, even if, like I did, you squeeze your submission at 11pm on Sunday it is worth it.

The amount of practical, industry-based knowledge I have learnt over the past five weeks has been phenomenal. Vivienne gave sound advice when delivering her feedback for the assignments.

I enjoyed the logical structure in both the modules and the assignments.

The course has given me much more confidence in my writing abilities and a belief I can work as a full-time freelance writer.

I would like to thank both Valerie and Vivienne for their encouragement along with my fellow classmates.

The Freelance Writing Stage 1 course gives you the practical knowledge and skills to go out and earn an income.

I thoroughly enjoyed researching my topics and applying it to my assignments. It helped me to really identify the topics that I am most passionate about. Criminal justice is my thing!

I learnt so much and can't wait to start another course.

Valerie was a great presenter and Vivienne offered thorough feedback on submissions. Great insights on how to actually go about getting feature articles out there.

I enjoyed the insights into how the industry works. As a beginner, it's really tricky to know these things without guidance.

Encourages me to diversify into freelance writing as well as copywriting. Expanding my skillset and opportunities to make a career of writing.

Really practical courses that can be completed without taking up a ridiculous amount of time.