What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I had done a course with Cathie before and I wanted to work with her again. I also love picture books and read a lot of them in my job as a Teacher Librarian.

I loved how comprehensive it was. Cathie is an amazing tutor. She is super knowledgeable and her feedback is always spot on.

I learned I could write a picture book and it has given me some new writing goals. Before that I had written 2 YA novels and did not see myself writing anything else.

The AWC has excellent courses and I regard them highly.

I enjoyed the exercises and assignments, and learnt so much from the audio lectures.

I appreciated Cathie's constructive and prompt feedback.

I'm aware of themes, plot growth in relation to pagination, and the role of the illustrator. This has inspired me to revisit all my old drafts and edit ( drastically ) to implement what I have learnt.

Wonderful opportunity to learn new writing skills and to better understand the genre and marketing.

The weekly individualised feedback on each assignment attracted me as I would like to be a published author and I didn't know where to start.

I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the assignment deadlines and I was worried that everyone else would be a higher standard than me. I didn't need to worry as I managed to keep up and everyone was very supportive and welcoming.

Advice on language and story structure was the most valuable to me. The encouragement and constructive feedback was wonderful. Felt like I was guided through the process of writing a picture book from start to finish. It was also encouraging to feel like I was on the right lines with my writing and my goal of becoming a published author could actually become a reality.

It has encouraged me and given me the confidence to take the next steps in my writing career.

Cathie was great. Very knowledgeable and had top advice.

I enjoyed the informative videos. It's a brilliant, well-paced course.

I really enjoyed the different writing tasks and being able to focus on different elements of picture book structure.

I had an epiphany today on the kind of stories I want to write for children and the kind of author I want to be. The course has provided me with incredible tools and resources to make this happen. I feel I already have now several very good stories to polish over the next year and hopefully have success publishing.

I would say that this course was excellent, and I wish I had done it several years ago. Sometimes life is busy, and this felt like a treat - it was!

I've done lots of courses for novel writing with AWC but, in amongst the emotional rollercoaster of writing a novel, I had a seed of an idea for a picture book. Then the seeds grew to many! So on a whim, I put the novel on the backburner and did the course. I'm very proud of the 2 picture books I've written in this course.

I loved hearing Margaret read my manuscript. It was so helpful in hearing the rhythm and word choice from her voice. She gave me great feedback and was really encouraging.

Now I'd like to pursue publication of picture books!

Really easy and accessible way to do a course. It's always enjoyable.

It's like exploring a new thing. Each Sunday at midnight, I used to open the new module and check all the titles that we were going to learn in that module.

It made me understand how picture books are created and its various aspects. With my little illustration skills, I tried to create a picture book.

There are so many 'aha!' moments throughout the course. For example, learning Approaches to Illustration is an 'aha!' moment, learning Visual Literacy is an 'aha!' moment, learning about the storyboard template, and so on. All the Modules are 'aha!'

I felt like Cathie knew the subject very well and was able to provide solid feedback.

What I enjoyed most was the different way you write compared to writing for an adult audience, which is what I'm more used to.

Do this course, it's fun.

I enjoyed having a deadline each week to keep me regularly working on my writing.

The course was well structured, had good supporting materials in the handouts, it was practical, I've loved it.

Cathie was very supportive and constructive. I liked the way her comments were delivered by video and by the written word. This meant I could really hear the emphasis of her comments.

I really enjoyed learning about the structure of a picture book and how to incorporate point of view and emotion into that structure. This was all new to me.

I would say that it is essential to writing a picture book if you are a beginner.

The tutor was encouraging. The feedback was practical and I was able to apply it to the next module's exercise. Provided the framework for translating ideas into stories.

I have wanted to write children's picture books for years. I started myself several years ago and I still have the same ideas and now have the tools and guidance to seriously pursue this.

By module four I was able to apply the theory into practice and write in the style required for professional writing.

I wanted a short course that would be give me an insight into writing children's picture books. As a classroom teacher, I've read hundreds of books to my students and absolutely love it. I wanted to explore the idea of possibly writing a children's book, and I was looking for a course that was online and flexible which allowed me to study after work.

I really enjoyed the flexibility of the course and the engaging course material. I learnt so much as the course content was extensive and was able to download all the material for future referencing.

My online tutor (Cathie Tasker) gave timely, constructive feedback and very valuable suggestions to improve my ideas and writing skill.

This course has motivated me to attempt to write a picture book. I'm thrilled with the experience. As a novice, I was nervous to even try, but the knowledge I gained from this course and the classroom forum has helped me start to plan and move forward as I explore the idea of writing for children.

The course covered everything from storytelling fundamentals to publishing guidance. I loved the interactive lessons, engaging story writing exercises, and valuable feedback from the tutor. I think my 'aha' moment was deeply exploring picture books and learning about structure and pagination, such as the 3-act structure applied to a page plan. After learning this I went back and read many picture books I'd read previously to my students over the years and looked for this structure. This learning experience also helped me structure my ideas and the flow of my story ideas.

Go for it! You will gain so much knowledge and confidence around writing picture books.

Cathie gave kind, honest and critical feedback which was very helpful.

I enjoyed the assessments and committing to writing weekly.

It's nudged me into writing each week again, and meeting and maintaining writing goals.

Dive in. You'll learn lots and come away armed with the knowledge of how to write a well-structured picture book story.

I found the level of detail to be incredibly helpful.

I enjoyed the writing! I loved pushing myself towards the weekly submission deadline.

I'm highly motivated to carry on now. What started as curiosity is now a growing passion.

There was a point where I clicked into a sort of 'sparkling simplicity'. The instruction encouraged me to drop my tendency to overwrite and it was a game changer.

Just do it! It will give you the push that you need.

Picture books are my favourite and always have been. I have been 'jotting' for years and I decided to take the plunge and start writing more seriously.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. I will be doing lots more writing and polishing my stories.

Learning so much about the writing process has been inspiring. I have loved having an excuse to read so many picture books.

I have always wanted to write and I now have so many tools and resources to help me with reaching my goal.

I can't believe it, but I'm going to miss doing the assignments. I'll have to get organised and set future goals for myself.

I really loved the course and the detail that went in to it. I wish it was longer.

I found the feedback extremely useful as I feel like Cathie was very direct on what we needed to do to improve.

Thank you for offering such a great course, I look forward to doing more of them in the future.

The feedback I received was helpful, and I felt like Margaret was very supportive.

I enjoyed the way the program was delivered (audio with handouts) and the added deadline for weekly assignments kept me accountable.

It gave me structure and insight into the writing community. There is a lot of helpful information that would be difficult to find elsewhere, and that alone is worth the investment.

I was blown away by just how much I learned. I have worked as a writer in a variety of contexts over decades and, as a linguist, understand something of child language development. I had some awareness that writing a picture book was likely not as effortless as it might seem but what I discovered was a craft deeper and more fascinating than I imagined.

Margaret's experience, skill, and commitment to quality writing for children shone in her feedback to all of us. I plan to go on to do the Masterclass so I can benefit further from her wisdom.

On top of those skills, Margaret also seems like someone who would be great to sit next to at a dinner party! A terrific person. We were lucky to have her as our tutor.

I enjoyed the learning, Margaret's experienced feedback, and (to a huge extent), the privilege of seeing EVERYONE who participated develop their skills significantly over the 5 weeks. It was a lovely, encouraging cohort of students.

I have deeper belief in myself as a creative writer and know what I need to do to pursue my dream of having a picture book published.

The AWC will give you what you need to free your writing spirit. Whether it's the quality of the content, the systematic approach, or the brilliant tutors, somewhere in there may lie the key to unlocking what's holding you back.

There was a lot more technical information than I was expecting! It was fantastic.

I enjoyed submitting my own work and being given excellent suggestions to improve.

Excellent course. Highly recommend.

After listening and attending other online picture book courses I was concerned that the information I would receive would be the same as what was freely available on YouTube. I was VERY wrong. This course was highly informative and enjoyable.

A giant thank you to Margaret for her feedback. I also really enjoyed the fact that there was a forum to speak to the other people who were taking the course. Overall, I was very happy with everything that I learned and the engagements.

My overall impression of Margaret was that she was extremely professional as well as encouraging to us new writers. I loved that. Her feedback was both positive as well as informative.

I cannot imagine a way to improve this course. I did not leave it wanting anything more except for it to run longer.

I've learned that I now have the skills, foundation and confidence to pursue what I've always wanted to do and dreamt of, writing stories for children's picture books.

It is the most reputable source that I have ever seen available or experienced.