Courses
On Demand Writing Courses
Next Level Novel Writing
Take your novel from rough draft to polished manuscript
The Next Level Novel Writing course series is designed to help you revise and power up your manuscript, one key craft element at a time. Whether you're prepping for submission, publication, or self-publishing success, each course in the series offers bite-sized, practical lessons you can apply straight away.
Turn up the Tension
Mini course for novelists wanting to inject page-turning tension into every scene
Turn Up the Tension is a hands-on, self-paced course designed to help fiction writers add drive, dynamism and edge to every page. Through short, practical lessons, you’ll learn how to weave tension into your story’s fabric—from the sentence level to the big-picture structure.
Northern Beaches Readers Festival Workshop
About
Great stories don’t just entertain – they make readers feel. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create believable, emotionally rich characters whose hopes, fears, flaws and desires resonate with readers. Through practical exercises and discussion, you’ll discover how authentic characterisation creates emotional impact, raises the stakes, and keeps readers invested from the first page to the last. Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, you’ll leave with techniques to give your writing greater emotional depth and lasting power.
The workshop is limited to 15 participants, so book early to avoid missing out.
Pamela Cook is an author, podcaster and teacher who writes page-turning contemporary women’s fiction, delving deep into the psychology of her characters and the complexity of relationships in all their forms.
Date
Saturday 26 September 2026 9:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Location
9:45am, Activity Room 4
Avalon Recreation Centre, 59 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon NSW
South Coast Writers Centre
Pathways to Publication
Workshop
About
Thinking about publishing your writing but not sure where to start?
Pathways to Publication is a practical three-hour workshop exploring the different routes writers can take to becoming published.
Discover how both traditional publishing and self-publishing models work, what additional resources you’ll need for each route, and the pros and cons of each option.
We’ll unpack the publishing process and explore practical steps you can take to move your manuscript or writing project forward. Whether you’re working on your first manuscript, looking for a home for your short fiction or poetry, or considering taking the publishing process into your own hands, this workshop will help you understand your options and make informed decisions about your pathway to publication.
Pamela Cook is the author of 8 women’s fiction novels and has published in both the traditional and independent publishing worlds over the last twelve years. She is the host of the Writes4Women podcast and teaches workshops and courses, along with mentoring.
Date
10th October 2026 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location
Coledale Community Hall, Meeting Room
Coledale NSW, Australia
Writing NSW
Turn Up the Tension
Online Course
About
This writing course, Turn Up the Tension with Pamela Cook, will take place online.
‘Tension on every page” is, according to literary agent Donald Maass, the secret ingredient that keeps readers coming back for more.
In this interactive online writing workshop, you’ll learn how to hook the reader from page one and keep them turning the pages by creating tension through dialogue, body language, word choice and setting. You’ll learn which details to withhold and when, how to use backstory judiciously, and the importance of characterisation and narrative structure.
Join author, podcaster and teacher Pamela Cook, who will use examples from contemporary fiction to discuss the key elements of writing and sustaining tension. During this one-week workshop, you’ll work through a series of exercises that will hone your skills and give you renewed enthusiasm to work on your manuscript. Regardless of genre, if you want to write a page-turner, this online workshop is for you.
Date
Wednesday 11 to Tuesday 17 November, 2026
Location
Online