What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I love to write and have a few stories in the works but I really had no idea how to finish them with a view to being published traditionally. The first thing I wanted was tips on how to complete my manuscript, which in turn would help me move on to the next stage.

Writing is a true love of mine and studying it or being able to get a job in the field would be a dream.

I enjoyed reading other students work. It really helped me decide what I should and shouldn't be doing. My classmates were very helpful.

Angela was very positive and informative. I got a lot out of the course because of her attitude towards writing.

The comments about being committed to your writing really inspired me. The second and third drafts and how to get them done was very valuable information for me at this stage.

I'd like to thank everyone for putting these courses together and for creating a place us writers feel comfortable.

I've had ideas for books in my mind for about 20yrs, but never known what to do with them. I googled and researched writing courses and this one drew me in.

Angela's responses/feedback were positive with insightful criticisms that provided opportunity for growth.

Every time I wrote, regardless of topic and difficulty of subject matter, I would find myself excited and stimulated; eager to write more.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the process and am now eager to push forward with my first book.

It is a great introduction to writing skills, professional yet relaxed and the format is easy to follow with great resources and tutors. Also it doesn't matter what level you are at.

The Writing Picture Books course with AWC was fantastic. Professionally presented audio content and useful information in each week's handouts. It was great to see other students developing and improving throughout the course. Zanni gave some specific feedback to help move my writing forward in such a specialised area. If anyone is keen to find out more about writing picture books and an overview of the publishing process, this would be a great course to get started with.

Angela was very encouraging, she always said the right thing and in a very positive way, even when she was pointing out some mistake.

My major learning point was knowing that you have to go over your written drafts many times, not just write once or twice and then leave it.

Sadly it made me realise that I should have done this years ago.

Thank you very much, I have enjoyed this experience.

It was nice to feel at ease and do it in my own time. I have a toddler who keeps me very busy plus I’m a teacher too so it’s nice to be able to do this in the free time I do get without deadlines or cut offs.

It’s given me the information I need to start blogging or even expand to perhaps seek out writing for a smaller business.

That’s it’s affordable, informative and gives you the ease and comfort to study in your own time while having the templates to keep that will help in all that you apply yourself to.

There is a lot to learn and writing children's picture books is more complex than I originally thought.

It was great to have a currently published picture book author as a tutor. Her perspective was amazing!

I also liked reading through other people's ideas and stories, it was great to see how other people wrote and to think about what I might do differently with the same piece. The course was a good opportunity to try out a few ideas that had been bubbling around in the brain for quite a while, with mixed results!

I've been a teacher for years and always thought that's all I could ever be. This course opened up my eyes to other possible careers that I could pursue using my writing skills.

Cat was a kind tutor who gave open and honest feedback about our work. She was prompt to answer any questions posted in the chat.

Thank you...I have a notebook full of notes and a head full of ideas!

I am in the final stages of completing the novel I have been working on for the past two years. When I saw this course advertised, I wanted to make sure I had covered everything. AWC courses are always so thorough and full of common sense advice so I knew that doing this course would help me to finalise my novel.

This course was so thorough and easy to follow. It reassured me about what I have done well in my novel and has showed me where I need to do more work. The module on beginnings and endings was particularly relevant for me, as I have recently changed the ending to my novel. I now realise that I need to change the beginning to align with that. Your course has given me some helpful advice on what I need to do to make my opening chapters more compelling and relevant to the ending.

This a a thorough, common sense course that will make the processes you need to follow very clear. This course demystifies what it takes to create a great story without taking away the magic.

What a clear, concise and well-presented course it was. Natasha repeated things that were important and she spoke clearly and in a way that made it easy to understand.

I like the idea of the corkboard and I like the way you can just write random scenes without worrying about layout until later. I'm really keen to get writing now.

Also I purchased this course a while ago and then my computer crashed. Now with a new computer I listened to the course again. I love the fact that I could revisit the course, and I will probably continue to do this until my 12 months are up!

... Scrivener is so useful for writing ... it is very much worth taking time to get to know the program to get the most out of it. Basically as my Dad always said, 'Read the instructions'.

I wanted to kickstart my creativity as I was having a major slump during the lockdowns.

I thoroughly enjoyed Angela's comments and feedback and felt so inspired and encouraged. Angela has such a nurturing and profound way of guiding us through the process and providing encouraging feedback.

Reading other people's different styles and issues helped me see mine and take on their feedback.

I felt my writing improve with the guidance and feedback over the course of the 5 weeks. Writing a scene now feels clearer to me. After the final, glowing feedback from Angela, I feel inspired and encouraged to send my stories to publications.

I absolutely love the podcast and never miss an episode. I love the newsletter. And this course has given me the inspiration and encouragement to keep writing.

The tutor was knowledgeable, informed and interested. I enjoyed the assignments and feedback sessions.

When posting assignments - I realised that I really DO love writing and writing under pressure. It was a really fun and really productive course.

I really feel motivated to push forward with the pursuit of a career in picture books and/or publishing.

The environment in the classroom was safe and friendly. The lecture audio recordings are helpful and they step by step teach people how to write creatively. The tutor is really knowledgeable.

I enjoyed writing homework. Doing assignments was challenging but if it was not, I would not have that much fun. I tried my best and had a sense of accomplishment after completing the course.

I now have some tools if I want to write stories. When stuck, I can go back to the check list and get to know my characters more. Practicing POV was fun.

I enjoyed the course immensely and had fun.

The advertised content was very relevant to improving my ability for achieving better listing write-ups.

Great course in a casual delivery by author.

I enjoyed the casual delivery of content and ability to stop and start until completed. Makes you think from a different perspective. A more formal description of what I had been doing without thinking about “why” I did it.

I am one of those people that has said I have always wanted to write a novel but I had no idea where to start. I read some reviews and saw so many successful writers and authors. I knew I had to do it.

The exercises to work through to get to the writing point I found really helpful. The audio lessons were great. Excellent feedback. I have gained a lot from everything I have learnt. Thank you, Angela, for all your great work.

I enjoyed actually writing. Breaking things down into small sections so I could make sense of what I was going to do.

I'm more confident in my ability to write. The course says just write so this is what I will do. I won't put it off anymore. Just write. Don't worry if you haven't got the story sorted in your head... just write.

If you have ever thought about writing at all definitely do a course that is relevant to your area of interest. It can only be beneficial to you.

Thank you for opening my eyes to creative writing. I am already looking at what my next course will be. I have found the online connection with other students great as well.

The toolkit David leads us through is very useful. I took time after each module to look through my notes, research and interviews to ensure I had really used my senses to listen to the person being interviewed, whether it was the primary source or secondary.

If you want to learn to hone your craft of research and writing then David Leser's course on Profile Writing is essential learning. I am not a profile writer, I'm a memoir writer, but I found the things discussed in the modules were relevant to my craft.

AWC seemed to be a beacon for me when I was a bit muddled with my 'completed' manuscript. Research showed all these fantastic courses and roadmaps for me - thank god for AWC!!

I enjoyed listening to the voice - easy to understand and listen to with a bit of fun thrown in.

It helped me pull the journey steps all together - a map for my journey.

Well worth the time, effort and money if you are serious about becoming a published author.

Seeing the success that past students had accomplished gave me the confidence that this was the right organisation to give me the foundation and building blocks I needed to get started.

Sue was great and her feedback was extremely valuable. It helped in guiding me in the right direction and gave me the confidence I need to move forward.

Valerie's audio lessons and her knowledge were fantastic. I loved that I could pause and take down the important stuff and also go back and listen to them when I needed to. It made me feel like I was in an actual class. I liked that we got to see each other’s work as I think we learn something from each other in that way.

It made me realise I can do this if I put my mind to it.

I learnt so much about the industry as a whole and have a huge respect for the established freelance writers out there. Now I am suddenly drawn to the magazine aisle in the supermarket and find myself buying print publications, which is something I have not done in years. Now I look at magazines in a different light, assessing their content and calculating freelance v in-house writers before I buy.

It has made me realise what my niche is. What I really want to tell the world about. I found my passion (apart from writing that is) so it's on to the next course to learn as much as I can to be the best I can be.

If you want to be a writer then the AWC is where you need to go to get started. They will provide you with the foundation, knowledge, skills, and confidence you need so you can catch that dream and start living it instead of just dreaming about it.

Looking forward to doing the next course with the AWC. This was a great experience.

I wanted to improve my writing and to develop strong self-editing skills. This course helped me to re-learn grammar that I took for granted and reminded me of others. The fact it was geared to fiction writing made it extremely worthwhile.

I loved doing the exercises. Which I am going to re-do on a regular basis to really entrench the learning and refine my writing skills further.

I am more aware of what and why I am writing in terms of the grammatical structure. I have actually written a few pieces while doing this course and I have already noticed a marked improvement and heightened awareness.

If you want to be a skilled fiction writer you need to do this course. If you think you are a crafted writer, especially if editing is not your profession, then you must do this course. This course will sharpen your writing skills.

I was looking to improve upon my media release strategy and success rate as well as qualify my experience.

The information was easily digested and I was impressed by the amount of support material provided. I will find these downloads very useful in the future.

Valerie seemed very knowledgeable and experienced with the subject and provided interesting examples to see the methods applied in various industries and circumstances.

I now know that my previous attempts were on the right track and the tips and advice contained in this course will refine my efforts and maximise the impact and success of future media releases.

The course was easy to access, the information was clear and thorough and I enjoyed the content.