What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I was so impressed with Creative Writing Stage 1. It is such a comprehensive course and it is such a lovely community to be part of. I found it very rewarding and Nat Newman is a great mentor. The audios and assignments are so valuable. Thank you AWC for giving me confidence in my writing.

Nat Newman has a lovely presence and gives a very experienced critique with gentleness and things to work on, which is very constructive. Thank you, Nat.

The audios are priceless. And the assignments were daunting but enjoyable in the end.

I feel I can now begin my manuscript on my mother's life. And will definitely do more courses in the future.

AWC is such a fun and professional writing space. Such an experienced community of writers.

Just a big thank you to all your lovely staff.

It was a great experience, with a lovely bunch of people and a really experienced tutor. Thank you very much for putting it together and I’ll return to AWC writing courses in future and recommend them to others.

I enjoyed the feedback, both giving and receiving. The full manuscript feedback at the end was exceptional, and I was very lucky to have a superb reading group.

Coming into the course, I had quite a lot of chapters written, but was still completely unsure about what kind of book it was. Cathie helped me enormously on that. During the course, I've also rewritten almost every chapter, and added new ones. Interestingly, the chapters that really resonated with my final reading group were the ones I've only written since joining the course, which indicates that I'm both on the right path with the decision to make it more personal, and that my writing has really improved in recent months. Also, while I'd shared the first few chapters with quite a few people, the other chapters had never been seen by a soul. So having these really comprehensive feedback rounds has been a wonderful experience that makes the idea of this thing being published one day feel a lot more real. Finally, it's been really great practice for me to build writing (or feedback) time into every week. It almost killed me as I was working on it on the train to work and in lunch breaks, but it was just such a valuable practice that now feels part of my life.

I would say do the year long course for the discipline of a regular writing practice, the great feedback (both giving and receiving) and the professional advice. You come out a better and more disciplined writer for it, and you meet lovely people along the way.

I have been looking at classes with AWC for quite a while. I'd had a particularly bad day at work as a neonatal nurse and bought a laptop on the way home from work and signed up for this course by the time I went to bed that night. I started it with plans to write a book for my nephews for Christmas.

I was concerned I would be out of my depth. I am a nurse and have never studied any literature or early childhood courses, but the course exceeded my expectations.

Cathie is a fabulous tutor. Her feedback on the assignments has been invaluable and also encouraging.

I loved all of it - both the content and the assignments.

I am writing every day since starting this course. This course has helped me to develop my ideas into stories. It has shown me the importance of show don't tell in picture book writing.

The course is well thought out and easy to complete around other life commitments. The feedback you receive during the course is invaluable for your writing progress.

This course exceeded my expectations. I now have tools for digging deeper into characters.

I was able to get unstuck with the ending of my fantasy novel, by understanding the motivations of my main character better. Awesome outcome

I was relieved to hear that you don't have to know your characters inside out before you start because I tend to get to know the characters as I go. However, having the tools to find out more about them during the story is much better.

You always learn something new when doing an AWC course, even if you think you know it. You don't know it all and the insights into crafting your work are definitely worth it.

Grammar and punctuation are areas I know I fall down in, and this course seemed to be tailor-made to help writers improve quickly.

I now know where commas belong and where to put apostrophes. Both of which I was complete rubbish at previously. The exercises helped to solidify the information being presented.

I've recommended AWC courses at almost every job I've had in the last decade or so.

Grant was great at delivering the content. He did it in a way that flowed well, spoke clearly and was very straightforward in his delivery.

I loved the workbook with the exercises, and the ease of understanding the course.

It's given me the tools to hone my content and letter writing skills. Little things, like being reminded to write to audience, made all the difference.

The course is definitely worth the investment.

I look forward to do more courses through AWC, and not just on a personal level.

I enjoyed this course as I learnt more about travel writing. The fact that it was self-paced gave me flexibility to structure my learning and allowed me to rewatch videos. I also liked the handouts - it was easy to follow.

I'm more motivated to write articles as I can see a pathway to becoming a travel writer as outlined in the course.

Enrol! You'll learn a lot.

I'm in a secondment to a new position that requires a lot of business writing (briefing papers) and have not had prior experience in this area.

Grant was excellent - the right amount of professionalism, mixed in with a laid back nature. Excellent content and clearly an expert in the area.

I enjoyed the fact that it was spread across 2 days - it broke it up nicely and wasn't too overwhelming this way. Also I liked the info on apostrophes and grammar, which often get overlooked on MS Word spell/grammar check.

The course has helped me to organise thoughts, improve understanding of grammatical rules, and increase knowledge of currently available resources, such as those for checking readability.

It's worth the money and helps provide a really good guide to any type of communication required and for any audience type. Plus lots of additional tips and resources for use down the track.

It was a great course and probably the most impressed that I've been with a course in quite some time.

Grant was very helpful during and outside of the sessions; he promptly attended to our doubts and listened to our comments.

I think the workbook as we followed the lessons was a good idea and I enjoyed having material to work with besides the presentation.

I am more aware of all the steps I should follow to write in a better way with a more clear and simple message.

From my personal experience, I am grateful I could take this course and I could recommend it to professionals who want to improve their English writing.

The tutor was very engaging and was an expert on the subject. I liked the use of examples from Grant's work experience.

It was extremely useful in educating you on how to plan and execute your writing to meet the needs of the reader and engage them. It was applicable to any audience and type of writing e.g. webpage, article, report etc.

I believe this was money well spent.

I really want to write but do not see myself as a creative person. I was struggling with ideas and wanted a course that might help me to tap into that.

I actually really enjoyed learning about the artists that Kate introduced us to and how art and writing are strongly connected. The same with poetry. I have not really looked much at poetry before but this course drew my attention to it and I've begun to read more of it. I've even tried writing my own Haikus!

I have leaned into my daily writing habit more, honing it to be more reflective in a positive way about the things I experience daily, rather than the often depressive, self-deprecating ramblings I was writing. This has really helped me to keep the joy and remind myself that in order to write well I need to look out to the world for inspiration not inward.

Kate's enthusiasm for writing is infectious. If you are ever in any doubt about your capacity as a writer, let Kate guide you through how to tap into the well within and around you and get ready to be amazed with what you will find.

Cathie is a wealth of knowledge and was happy to answer any question thrown her way. She helped me immensely. Her feedback was always constructive and easy to understand.

I most enjoyed the Zoom meetings. They were so insightful and fun. We had a really great bunch who I would not hesitate in contacting after the course has finished.

I have learnt so much! I feel more confident and I hold my own values closer too. It has made me look at myself as a writer, which I was struggling to admit before the course.

If it wasn't for AWC, I wouldn't be the confident writer that I am today. I was a procrastinator that didn't take myself seriously, doubting my own every turn. AWC has steered me in the right direction and taught me lifelong lessons that I will carry with me throughout all of my writing endeavours.

I loved it.

I knew I wanted to write a children's book; other than the idea, I didn't know where to start.

This course exceeded my expectations. Having actual tutor feedback on my writing was invaluable. She was very patient, very thorough, very quick!

I enjoyed completing my assignment, sitting on it, letting it rest, submitting on Sunday. Waiting for my next lessons, waiting for my Loom feedback session!

I am determined to continue with my journey to be a published author.

I have joined the Furious Fiction writing, I'm listening to your podcasts, I've joined your Facebook pages. I'm getting very involved and very excited! The AWC is a great spot to find a course to help in any aspect of writing that needs it.

I really enjoyed the structure and content of the course, the way it led you through the important elements, gave practical tips, guides, templates. Also loved being able to read and learn from the comments of all the others during the course.

I thought Pamela was great, very good at providing insightful feedback both positive and negative.

I enjoyed learning about the 'craft' of writing an engaging story for this age group, particularly the way to 'breadcrumb' information, having a believable character arc that drives the plot and structure etc.

Thanks Pamela, I loved the course.

Grant was very knowledgeable with great experience.

I enjoyed the easy-to-understand content. I now know where I can find the suggested tools. Plus it helped me realise a few things I was not clear on.

It was a great introduction to business writing.

Bernadette is very knowledgeable and her classes are well structured. She has been in the copywriting business for a long time, and you know you are learning from the Master copywriter, and not from a trendy guru. :-)

The new learning was effortless to apply. I enjoyed the comprehensive feedback on each assignment. I feel confident to prepare email marketing campaigns for my business or my clients.

If you want to make an impact with your copywriting, do it.

Nat is a fabulous educator, and you can see the genuine enthusiasm she has for her work. The feedback was spot on.

I liked that everyone was there for the same reason.

I can't think of any way you could improve this course; it was amazing.

Do a course because it's very straightforward: if you pay attention, your game will be lifted.

I'll be back.

Bernadette was wonderful, very informative and provided great feedback, and when she praised something you knew it was good.

I enjoyed the interaction with the other students. Editing / critiquing other people's work does change how you experience reading and writing.

I am determined to finish my first novel to as high a standard as possible.

I have been recommending the AWC to friends, and I've simply said - if you want to write, find the AWC course and just do it - you won't regret it.

Thank you so much :-)

Thank you for a wonderful course! I learnt so much and I'm already planning my next one with AWC.

Nat was approachable, enthusiastic and gave me so much confidence with her feedback! She really took the time to explain her thoughts and I found it so valuable. Thank you!

The classroom chat was a fun aspect and I loved reading everyone else's work. I wish it didn't have to end haha!

I now write every day and feel confident that I can learn and grow.

It's friendly, encouraging and a wonderful source of information.

Lesley was a great presenter. Everything was clearly presented. Pace was good. Notes were useful. Great use of practical examples. Each module was clear and concise and a good length.

Can't wait to start writing my first chapter book!