What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Bernadette was positive and honest. Had a great ability to see what's not right with your story.

I enjoyed workshopping. Giving and receiving feedback. I have a clearer idea of what is not working in my novel.

You will love it, meet wonderful people and your manuscript will vastly improve.

I had completed Write Your Novel and I'd been working on the next draft of my manuscript, but I was keen for more support in editing it and I really value the class feedback and the regular cadence of this type of program.

Bernadette was really amazing to work with. She gave constructive feedback and was very encouraging. I highly recommend her.

Through Bernadette's and my other classmate's guidance I've learned to trust myself more in my writing. I feel my manuscript is so much closer now to being 'finished' and to be able to pitch it to publishers.

Having completed WYN, this course was the obvious next step to developing my manuscript with the support of a tutor and workshopping with fellow students at a similar level.

I was quickly put at ease by Bernadette's welcoming tone and my group of amazing classmates.

Bernadette was a fabulous tutor. Her warm and friendly style encouraged everyone in the class. Our weekly Zoom meetings were fun and informative. She guided and challenged me to shape my draft into a better form.

It has helped me understand that editing (although a seemingly daunting process) can be broken down into chunks and is an essential part of writing. I can now accept that sometimes you need to delete 'your darlings' to make a better draft.

If you want to learn more about the writing process, there is a course for you at the AWC.

Bernadette was a great facilitator. Always very positive!

The zoom meetings when it was time to receive our feedback was a big highlight. It was very empowering and helped focus on what to do next to improve my novel.

This is the 4th course i've done with AWC, and you should definitely do it!

Bernadette is a delight who provides fabulous and thorough feedback. She ran the zoom sessions fairly and encouraged all of us to create bonds that I'm sure will be lasting. I would be eager to enrol in any course where Bernadette is the tutor.

The weekly zooms kept us accountable, kept us in touch and created strong friendships.

It has encouraged me to keep going.

This centre provides outstanding opportunities for learning and connection with fellow writers.

Doing this course was the best decision. It was hectic. At times I felt overwhelmed and wondered if I was out of my depth. I feel, though, I have learnt so much. More than in any other course.

Bernadette was fantastic. She was my tutor for WYN, and it was fabulous having her for this course as well.

I enjoyed working in the group environment on each other's manuscript. The weekly zooms really kept me focused.

I have realised that writing the novel is the easy part. I feel getting published will be a challenge. It is a world I know very little about. Though I want to add, as a scientist I never understood the concept of a degree in any creative art. It was a foreign world for me. Now I truly understand how knowledge about creative writing technique etc really strengthens writing skills (unless of course you are simply born brilliant!)

Fun and fabulous. If you want to write the AWC is a great place to help with the journey.

I got so much out of the Write Your Novel course - this seemed like the next step.

Bernadette is fantastic - she is so knowledgeable and provides valuable feedback combined with wonderful encouragement.

I feel like the Write Your Novel and Edit Your Novel courses have been like doing a masters degree in creative writing. I have learnt so much, and have achieved a solid draft of my first novel. I never would have achieved this without these courses. Thank you so much.

I have learnt the craft of storytelling and writing - now I just have to keep refining it.

The tutor was very knowledgeable and really got me thinking deeper about my manuscript and the path that it's now going in!

I enjoyed meeting all my classmates via Zoom and getting to read their incredible manuscripts whilst receiving invaluable feedback on mine.

The course was amazing! Got me to really see my manuscript through fresh eyes.

I had heard about Cathie Tasker when I was talking to a writer acquaintance. I was asking who would be a good manuscript editor for middle grade fiction and they recommended Cathie. I thought this was my best chance to get helpful feedback from someone who has worked in publishing.

Cathie is very humble. She gives you the space to be the writer and then chimes in once everyone has shared their views. That said, she knows what she thinks works and will step in to share when she has a strong opinion.

We had great camaraderie within the group and I was impressed by how skilled my fellow writers were at writing, and giving feedback. It gave me confidence that I'm on the right track.

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.

Cathie is a great tutor and cares very much for her students. She gives 110% if not more so and makes sure we understand. Her feedback and extra help is first class.

I gradually learnt to relax and enjoy each module and not feel as if I had two heads, being so much older than the other students. It was good to see faces and get to know each student on Zoom and to learn a little more about their lives. I enjoyed reading their submissions and enjoyed receiving their feedback on my own novel. It has been a great learning curve and I am so glad I did this course.

I think doing this course has given me confidence to explore deeper levels in my next novel and maybe not shirk doing another draft to this YA novel if it is needed. The novel would have stayed in the drawer forever without persevering with this EYN course. Oddly, I feel as if I have grown up!

I recommend many people to AWC and know of at least five who enrolled because I said it is the way to go and to learn the craft.

Thank you to Cathie, to Filia and Nic and to the students for being part of my journey for the past six months. It is sad to be reaching the end of the course, but I think some of us will stay good friends. I appreciate all the courses I have done with AWC. Each one adds another step in the right direction for a writer to learn aspects of the craft.

I found Angela to be relatable. Creating an environment where amateurs feel comfortable to share their struggles involves plenty of encouragement and kindly-delivered criticism and she was excellent at doing this. I would highly recommend her.

I enjoyed the fact that I managed to produce a draft in such a short period of time (I had to rewrite)! I also learnt about the faults and flaws of my writing which will help me improve!

Keep coming up with these innovative courses!

Pamela is always very engaged with her students and their work, and very knowledgeable about writing theory and technique. She clearly wanted us to get as much as we could out of the course.

I enjoyed the regular weekly feedback sessions. Also enjoyed the recorded lessons and the editing steps were very useful.

It made me understand that editing is a systematic process that, if I plod through it step by step, will improve my story.

Pamela is honestly the best writing teacher (or any teacher) I've ever had and I will always be grateful to her and glad I did this course! Writing a novel has been a lifelong dream of mine and I'm so close to being finished after doing this course.

I'd done four other AWC interactive courses and learned so much from each. But EYN was something else. I think it was the weekly Zoom call that elevated it. Having a conversation with Pamela and my classmates every week where we discussed structural issues, plot problems, character arcs, how the publishing industry works - and this is just the tip of the iceberg - was hugely informative and interesting. And then there was the 30 minutes assigned to each of us every four weeks where we got to receive verbal feedback on our own writing and to ask questions of the group. I made several substantial changes to my manuscript based on this invaluable advice. It was also very helpful and interesting to hear my classmates talk about their own work and the different feedback we each gave.

Pamela is an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and generous teacher who dispenses (much-needed) critical analysis and encouragement in just the right measure.

I especially enjoyed the logic and structure of the course's approach to editing. It gave me a solid scaffolding to work with, and broke the giant task of editing my story into manageable chunks. The exercises I did during that process led me to discover some stronger plot points and character development opportunities.

But what became even more enjoyable was getting to know Pamela and my classmates, and watching everyone's stories evolve. It was an incredibly supportive environment, and we are making plans to keep in touch and keep workshopping each other's stories.

It gave me a well-thought out and logical approach to structurally edit my novel (which was sorely needed). It gave me deadlines to meet (also sorely needed). It introduced me to a tribe of like-minded aspiring authors who cheered one another on, and to Pamela Freeman whose insight and guidance was extraordinarily helpful.

Thank you for offering this course! I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much from Pamela and my classmates. And writing my second draft was anything but lonely!

Do a course with the AWC and you'll fast track your skills as a writer and probably save yourself several drafts!

Pamela is an incredibly generous font of knowledge and an astute reader. I enjoyed seeing everyone improve so much.

Of all the courses I've done, this is by far the best, with the most relevant, concise information in the handouts and audio. The calibre of all the participants was wonderful which made working with them informative and a pleasure. And don't ever lose Pamela. She's a gift.

Do it. Writing is hard. Way harder than you think. With AWC you'll get support, you'll learn and you'll be a better writer at the end.

The tutor was excellent. Pamela's comments were always spot on and very useful to improve my draft.

Feedback from the class and the tutor after each submission was great. Course content was great. I learnt a great deal about story structure and what needs to happen in each scene. Helped me look at my work in a more critical way and improve the quality of my novel.

It's a great collaborative learning environment and you learn 'specific' aspects of writing rather than 'general' theory.