What’s it like to learn with AWC?

It has given me more clarity on feature article writing versus content writing and a clearer context for which way is most effective for some of my ideas.

The structure of the courses is really easy to follow and helps to make building blocks for how to get started. The advice is very practical and I love that I can go back and remind myself of some of the steps when I'm ready to hear them again.

Cathie Tasker is fantastic. Her feedback is constructive. Her suggestions have merit. Her honesty is delivered with tact. Also, her responses in the chat commentary show she is invested in students. I believe Cathie designed a picture book course for novice writers that was relevant, achievable, and without fluff. I'm glad I took the course. I'm a bit sad it's over.

I loved seeing the stories of other students. I loved the transparency of loom student feedback too - the vicarious learning was helpful. I also enjoyed the bravery of students. Each student would submit stories and just 'have a go'. The most helpful aspects of learning were about 1) the picture book page layout, 2) writing techniques, 3) publishing, and 4) editor feedback.

Bust your own myth - writing picture books is not easy. Take up the challenge and learn from an industry professional about how to write picture books. It will become a fun obsession!

I've always dreamt of becoming a writer, and after a long time of reading my favourite books, I decided I wanted to finally make that step into writing a book of my own fantasy!

I used to write stories as a kid and early teen, mystical worlds, zombies, romances... But I lost motivation due to issues at school and felt I wasn't good enough. I struggle A LOT with social anxiety, and prior to doing this course I was terrified I wouldn't be good enough to write, and terrified of the negative feedback. After doing this course I realised that the feedback was SO helpful, and I'm becoming confident in myself that I can write an amazing book - All thanks to AWC!

I thought the tutor was amazing. Gave me GREAT feedback, and really helped the little things I was doing wrong, teaching me how to make it compelling.

I found it so fun to write little scenarios based off the character I fleshed out in module 1, and after the feedback I received, I updated/upgraded my assignments and feel I could incorporate them into my actual story.

I genuinely felt looked after and I was stressing out about the fact that everyone could see my feedback and assignment, but it was so helpful and I'm very grateful for the experience.

This course has helped me grasp the confidence to write an AMAZING book, and given me the perfect techniques to keep readers intrigued. It felt great to put my imagination on paper, and have people actually enjoy reading it!

I would say to give it a chance - it helped me so much. There's so many little things with creative writing that I wouldn't have ever thought of if I were just writing it on my own. This course is so good for any aspiring author.

Thank you for this opportunity to pursue my dreams of becoming a writer.

Pamela communicated all the information clearly and into bite size videos.

I now have a basic idea of what is a compelling opening chapter to a book and what publishers are looking for.

Thank you for the course, it has given me a firm footing into how to begin this writing journey!

Do all the essential courses at AWC if you're serious about writing for publication.

When I re-read my draft novel, I discovered the many mistakes that I had made without realising it. A course everyone should take as revision.

Definitely do it. You will be amazed about what you have forgotten from school.

I like the depth of relevant examples for each plotting/planning component from popular authors and books. The art and history references included also add a depth to the learning.

I enjoyed Kate's lovely teaching style with examples in the course taken from art, history and popular authors.

Very useful for aspiring writers to learn the required skills to work on a novel.

I've been a classroom teacher all my life and loved picture books. I had a few ideas for picture books and when I looked into this course it looked interesting.

I was amazed at what I didn't know about picture book writing. I've written as a hobby for years and submitted picture books to publishers unsuccessfully a few times over the years.

Cathie's willingness to share her knowledge in such detail was inspiring. She was able to expose what wasn't clear in my writing. I realised the 'darlings' in my writing were often not helpful. I liked her feedback on assignments.

Go for it! I learnt so much.

Thank you, AWC, for providing such a vast array of opportunities to learn more about the craft of writing. Thank you, Cathie Tasker, for your selfless sharing of your vast knowledge.

Bernadette is an excellent tutor. Her video presentations have the right amount of new and reiterated information. She speaks with authority, curiosity and understanding. She has great skill in being able to provide positive yet constructive feedback. She is always able to provide helpful feedback on how to apply assignment learning to the broader aspects of our future business.

The course content provided a good balance between the opportunities and challenges of creating a business. It made it feel possible to achieve, with the right goals and expectations. It's given me the confidence to think I could completely change my career to freelance copywriting.

If you are new to copywriting and want to build your own business, participating in Copywriting Essentials, SEO Copywriting and How to Build a Successful Freelance Copywriting Business should be your priority!

I was interested to learn more about the basics to writing. I was also looking forward to receiving feedback on my writing from others. I had no concerns or hesitations before enrolling. I was maybe worried I was going to be the least skilled but discovered all levels of people were in the course and most people taking it were just like me.

I think the tutor was nice and knew her stuff. She gave the right level of criticisms and positives. When she would take someone's submissions and make adjustments in a Word document for everyone to see how it can be improved, this was very good.

I liked a lot of things about the course. I enjoyed the videos and that they are paired with the handouts. Also, I like that I can refer to the handouts in the future.

It's confirmed what I know and fine-tuned the things that I was unsure about. It's given me more confidence in my writing and an understanding to trust myself and the time it takes to write a good book. It's also encouraged me to consider workshopping or some form of beta readers when I've written more work.

You should definitely try this course if you want to write creatively because it gives the right tools and resources. It also tests your current writing abilities and shows that it's ok to change and explore other ways to write.

I was keen to learn/refine a skill that I have been dabbling with for many years into a skill that could be used to generate income as I look to move into semi-retirement.

The tutor was very knowledgeable, of course. I felt that she conveyed ideas in a simple and easy to understand way.

I always found the assignment feedback the most beneficial and enjoyable. I felt I got the most value from Bernadette's take on what I was trying to convey in the assignments.

I now have confidence in myself that I can do it. That is, I have always suspected I could but to actually sit down and make it happen without external input or using ChatGPT gave me great confidence.

The course is 'real world' and 'practical'. It is not too academic. The concepts given were then translated into how they could be applied in the real world.

Feedback in video form was great; I feel like the tutor's comments came across really clear and was able to understand where I'm at.

Definitely the support of others and the assignments really helped me realise so many different things about novels.

The AWC is really great to dip your toe in a very achievable way alongside work and other commitments.

I am part way through a trilogy of YA - my first novels - and felt it was important to ensure I was approaching the task with a proper structure.

I was very interested in Kate's insights on writing a series of novels. In the back of my mind I had been concerned about how to approach the character arcs in a trilogy and she dealt with this really clearly, confirming the approach I have been using is sound. I now feel I can move forward with confidence.

Kate's exposition is clear and compelling and the tools she provides for writing novels are undoubtedly designed not only to provide inspiration but to also to save time.

I write about travel on social media and on my blog, and wanted to learn more about travel writing techniques and industry requirements, and whether some of my articles might be suitable for submitting to print or online media. Enrolling in the AWC Travel Writing course seemed the perfect way to find out!

Valerie's insider knowledge and tips were invaluable, as were the handouts for reference.

I loved being able to pick up the course whenever it suited me and I really enjoyed working on it at my own pace.

I am writing more regularly and feeling confident about how I write. Although I haven't as yet submitted any of my work to media outlets, I am producing a lot of content for my blog, and happily sharing it on social media.

The AWC offers a wide range of writing courses in a variety of formats. If you are serious about improving your writing skills and gaining industry knowledge, this is the place to do it.

Bernadette is an absolute professional and highly experienced. I particularly enjoy her tutoring methodology - taking time, deep explanations during the training sessions and then thoughtful and considered feedback.

I really enjoyed the assignments - stretching myself to squeeze each one in around my regular full time work commitments. Working outside my comfort zone to write to a specific brief such as word count. Particularly enjoyed being made accountable to tick every box to deliver 'on brief' and to deadline. This is what happens in the real world!

I consider myself a writer now.

As an aspiring writer with a finished first draft, I wanted to understand more about the ins and outs of publishing to inspire me ahead of revisions.

I found the course incredibly thorough and informative. I felt like you were inside my brain - every one of my questions was answered, just as I was thinking it. The course was structured in a really easy-to-digest way which meant I came away feeling like I 'got it' - even some of the complex stuff.

I feel like, when my manuscript is ready, I'll feel confident to navigate the submissions process without fear of silly missteps.

I recommend AWC all the time! If you're ready to take your writing seriously, you have to invest in yourself and your craft and AWC courses are invaluable.

Victoria was great! Her feedback was very helpful, constructive yet encouraging.

I am far more motivated to keep learning and improving!

I would say it's a great course that imposes structure, teaches you the fundamentals in an approachable way, and actually gets you writing (which is the most important thing!)

Loved it, thank you!

I thought Pamela was outstanding! She is perfect at critiquing. I loved this course. I can't thank you enough.

Pamela has a gift! She gave it to our whole group. She was able to seamlessly talk to each person about their writing with the perfect amount of nurture and critique with a touch of confidence.

I found having a timeframe really important. I enjoyed workshopping so much more than I ever imagined. I am so surprised at my own growth.

This course gave me permission to write.

My breakthrough was the resistance I felt before each submission and I pushed through and did it anyway. The 'aha' is knowing that the amount of resistance means something great is about to be told.

If you have the slightest inkling 'DO IT!' then you know. Once you see you can't unsee.

Victoria was great and I really appreciated her honest feedback.

I had not thought to create such deep profiles of my characters, but it really helped me to work out the characters I was writing about.

I now know I can write a story, and I can enjoy the journey.

Just do it; its quality time spent on yourself.

I had never written a chapter book and now I have a first draft completed.

This course motivated me to take the first steps towards my dream of being a children's author.

I have completed some non-fiction courses (mainly for my work-related writing) but always felt drawn to exploring fiction. I knew Creative Writing Stage 1 was the course to do first, to learn the foundations then go on from there.

I feel the course has really been very thoughtfully crafted so that the foundational skills of creative writing are covered well. I really feel like I have developed the foundations now and can confidently go on to do other courses in the order suggested by AWC.

Victoria has a very warm and engaging style and I almost feel in a way like we were chatting live. Her video feedback was valuable, both her encouragement and also her tips for improvement, very sensitively and thoughtfully delivered.

I was excited on Monday mornings! The moment I woke up I was so keen to look at what the week had in store - the audio lessons from Val, the worksheets, exercises and assignment. Carving out time to plough on with the work and feeling really energised. I'm going to miss it and my classmates who have also been actively engaged in reading each other's writing and providing feedback

It has made me want to pursue creative writing and keep on writing, developing skills and improving. I know there might be times it will feel like a hard slog but knowing that I'm part of a supportive community of writers is a great comfort and benefit of AWC.

If you're creative, love words and have ever wondered if you'd enjoy writing, you should do one of the AWC courses. You will definitely learn and appreciate how stories and books are created and understand writing as a craft. The courses are so thoughtfully put together and the AWC community so supportive, you won't regret enrolling.

Thank you so much AWC for another great course experience.