What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I have read the Mapmaker series, and so I have a respect for that author. I also have a love of creative writing and hoped that she could help develop my skills. I love that this course offers personal feedback and that she was honest about my strengths and weaknesses.

I have grown in my understanding of developing characters and storylines and I know why my previous efforts at writing had failed. So, I think this course is valuable.

The tutor was very informative and used picture language which helped me to visualise.

I liked the feedback that A. L Tait gave on my assignments. I also loved completing the assignments which were challenging and motivating to complete because of the timeframe, and applying the skills that I learned in the course.

What attracted me to this course was my liking for creative writing and trying it out until I got stuck in my writing. I saw this course and thought that it could help me get unstuck in my writing.

The feedback that I got from my tutor was very good and helped me to move my writing skills to the next level.

I found the assignments the most enjoyable part of this course.

It has helped me to get back into my writing and fix up things in my writing that I hadn't even known were wrong. It has made my writing better and more entertaining.

I think the feedback was really helpful and constructive and I'm grateful to have received it!

I enjoyed learning more about developing characters and plot because that's something I wasn't sure how to do before the course.

I really liked getting feedback on assignments to know if I was on the right track. I also learnt a lot from the audio lessons that made me think more about my story.

Thanks!

In September, I started reading a lot of Stephen King stories. I didn't know how much a book could intrigue people back then. So, when I started reading his books, I was both amazed and stunned. I began to have so many story ideas flooding in my head, that I decided to buy myself a laptop only for writing purposes. I tried to write my own stories, but they weren't fitting as much as I thought they were. Then, in early February, my Mum suggested that I should join the AWC Teenage Writers' Program.

All feedback and support from my online tutor (Pamela Freeman) was extremely helpful. They taught me how to improve and edit my work in ways that nobody else could.

The most enjoyable part of this writing course was learning how to write a story and being excited every week for a new module.

Anybody who is invested in trying to write a story needs to check out this program.

The tutor was so nice and made me think about things I wouldn't have thought about. She got me out of the cliché ‘mum dying’ and helped me improve my ideas and how they can be developed.

I enjoyed that I was able to really think about what I wanted to do and put more detail and thought into it.

The character building made you really get to know the character you create and put more detail into them. I actually think about what I am writing and imagine the scene more clearly in my head. It also has more balanced portions of dialogue, emotion, description and thought.

My school cancelled English Literature class, and I really love writing. This led me to search for online writing courses and instantly found this one. I was impressed by what it provided and I was ready to give it a shot!

Pamela was great! She gave me really good feedback and advice and I think it was really great that I was able to get actual feedback on my own work that I had produced.

Personally, my favourite part of the course was the audio activity in module 8 that walked me through the 'describing a setting' process step by step.

It has taught me so much about writing that I didn't know before. I have learnt so many things that I am positive will make my writing much better than it was prior to this course.

The way to structure a story! Inciting incident, turning points, climax, resolution! I enjoyed it so much!!

I've been writing novels and short stories for a while and wanted to improve my writing to make my stories more engaging.

I have a severe visual impairment so I was a little unsure of how I'd access this course. However, I found the course very accessible, especially with the audio lessons and audible feedback.

I found my tutor very knowledgeable and encouraging. Their feedback was very helpful too.

I most enjoyed seeing my writing progressively improving over the time I was in this course.

This course has taught me different ways of looking at creating a story, from construction to completion. It has also made me more aware of using all the five senses in description.

My Mum was doing some research and suggested I do this course, and I thought I could give it a go, since I do homeschooling anyway.

Amazing job, guys!!

I liked the audios most, actually. The person who spoke was easy to listen to and understand and I think she did a great job.

Oh, man, it's changed my whole perspective in writing in every way!!

Oof, the entire thing was like 'OMG I DID NOT KNOW THAT - AWESOME!'

I wanted to grow my writing skills and it was the only one available for my age group. I was looking for direction for my future career when I leave school.

I didn't really know what to expect in the course, but it was really thorough and the most detailed course I've ever done.

Allison Tait was a wonderful tutor, and she gave detailed answers to my questions. She gave in-depth feedback on my assignments and pointed out things that I hadn't thought about.

I loved the audios every Monday and the fact I was able to devote as much time as I did to writing. I enjoyed the story building blocks that challenged me to think about my story and how it was going to grow and what was required for me to get it to that stage.

I can now do basic planning for my stories and I know what is involved to make them interesting for readers. It was a big help being told that there is no right way to write.

I enjoyed getting to learn more about the different elements of creative writing in-depth in a course that was designed for young, aspiring writers. I liked that it gave lots of advice and guidance, as well as opportunities to play around with ideas and develop your skills further. I also liked that you were able to work through the modules and exercises at your own pace.

The tutor was helpful and gave great guidance and insight. I also found them to be genuinely interested in their students and their stories.

I enjoyed the story building block modules, because it was fun to see a story gradually developing week by week, but I also enjoyed the other exercises where I could experiment with other ideas and story elements.

This course has had a significant impact on my writing, as it has given me more clear direction in relation to the writing process and what the necessary steps are for writing novels. It has emphasised how much time, effort and extensive thinking and planning is needed, both before, after and whilst you are writing, as well as the importance of redrafting.

I learnt so much from it. If I were to be honest, I loved module 1 where we created the character the best.

(The tutor) seemed very kind and professional. Her feedback was helpful and informative. Using the feedback, I was able to create another draft which I then sent in exchange of the Q&A option so that I could have it marked. Once again she gave wonderful feedback that I shall put into action on my scene to make it even better than before.

Pamela was incredibly helpful and gave excellent specific feedback and gave lots of insight into writing and publishing when answering my questions. The feedback and answers provided were really useful and fascinating to learn.

Probably a major learning moment was just hearing about the different ways authors and other writers write and plan their stories and that it doesn't really matter how you do it (compared to school where there's always a method and steps you're supposed to take).

The course has been amazing and super helpful and insightful, so thanks!

I wanted to learn how to write fiction so I could write my own book and this course description sounded perfect for me and was exactly what I was looking for.

I loved the assignments and getting feedback on them.

Pamela was lovely and very encouraging. She provided me with wonderful feedback and opened my mind to many new ideas.

It really helped me to get into the nitty gritty of a story and made me think of all the little details that wouldn't normally cross my mind. Every time I read a book or watch a movie now, I really think about the characters and plot, what things work, what things don't and what things I like.

I loved everything about this Teen Creative Writers' course!

There’s not a lot of writing programs offered for teenagers and the idea of direct feedback from a professional was very appealing.

I thought the tutor was very nice and clearly knew what she was talking about. I valued all of her feedback and her enjoyment of my work really made me more confident as a writer.

I enjoyed the feedback and the freedom of how it ran.

It made me more confident and gave my writing more structure, especially when it came to planning.

Thank you for the opportunity and I hope to try this again or try a similar program like this in the future.

I wanted to get practical, methodical advice to help in my writing, and this looked like it covered a variety of skills I wanted to brush up on.

The feedback Ms. Freeman gave me completely exceeded my expectations. I was expecting some simple written comments, but the video format was great and I really appreciated her feedback. There were a lot of gems in what she said. I have a very positive impression of her.

I enjoyed the assignments and listening to the feedback I got from my mentor.

It gave me some practical tips which I’ve used in writing projects and has allowed me to think clearly about how to organise my efforts in writing (and it’s worked, too, since I’ve used some of these tips in school assessments, and to some success :) )