What’s it like to learn with AWC?

It was fabulous, and exactly what I needed to learn. Spot on! I felt I had my money's worth by the end of week two :)

Zanni was really great. Her feedback was thorough and insightful. I found her personality warm and friendly, and felt she genuinely cared about helping us with improving our work. She encouraged me tremendously.

The length of this intensive 5-week course was perfect. Long enough to cover a lot of ground, but short enough for me to be able to put other areas of my life temporarily on hold, and really throw myself into it. I worked from 5am-7am each morning on the modules, and completed the assignments each weekend. Sometimes spending 12hrs on Sundays for the longer ones (but loving the process).

Having a weekly assignment deadline was fabulous...they really helped me stay on track, and put the course first in my priorities! Then eagerly waiting to hear Zanni's reviews which were always informative, motivating and spot on.

Firstly it has given me a huge confidence boost. I've written stories on and off for many years, but have not done anything about them as I knew I had much to learn. What I was taught in the course has changed the way I approach my writing, and filled in the gaps I knew were there (without knowing what they were). This new knowledge has turned a key for me, and unlocked a flood of writing!

Secondly, I'm now mentally ready to pursue writing in a serious way. I plan to keep learning and improving with the goal of one day being published as an author. Eventually writing the books I illustrate.

Thank you to Zanni Louise, Valerie Khoo and Cathie Tasker for presenting this excellent course. I intend to follow up with the Writing Picture Books Masterclass and Writing Chapter Books.

My grammar and punctuation were better than I thought, but I learned some things I didn't know as well. It's been very helpful and an educational experience for me. It has made me aware of my weaknesses and strengths. Now I know what I need to work on:)

The presenter was very clear and inclusive of all attendees. Hard to do sometimes when on Zoom.

I loved the way Michelle was on top of all situations.

Take the plunge. You will be swimming, with better strength, within moments of finishing the course.

Thank you for opening your doors to everyone that needs this type of support.

I have been blown away by this course. I didn’t expect to gain so much. In the short five weeks I have looked back at how my writing has improved. Many lightbulb moments of how I can improve my book...

The tutor was excellent. I particularly loved the feedback. So helpful in a compassionate way.

I was telling my daughter about the course. Her reply: “Mum, you sound so happy, obviously it is just the right fit for you.”

I didn’t believe it would have such a positive and challenging effect on me. I love my book, yet realised the frame is fine, but I have missed so much ‘colour, feel and juice.’ I know it will take me longer, yet I am excited. I have clarity.

This was an exceptionally good course with a very good group of writers. I enjoyed it. Thank you for all the office staff help too. I think the fact I had already completed Short Story Essentials helped me. I have done many of your courses through the years and they are informative and stimulating. But this was the best. Perhaps I will try one more with an unfinished novel waiting in the drawer for final draft. Thank you to you all.

Feedback from Cathie was excellent, encouraging and very informative. She gives such a lot of extra graphs and info sheets. I have downloaded them for future reference. Sometimes it takes a while to absorb all the information and it is good to have this feedback and also the module downloads to do at a later date. I can't praise Cathie enough; she is an excellent tutor. Thank you, Cathie.

I enjoyed the interaction with the other students - they are now good friends - reading their work and seeing how each one progressed. I wish it went longer as it seems as if we could have had a month more to work on the editing and publishing side of things. It would be interesting to know how they get on later so this is a reason to join the Facebook page.

I finished this memoir. It was tough work and emotional to go back and find what I needed to keep, what I needed to add, what needed to be left out. I'm glad it wasn't completed beforehand.

What I had considered just an urge that wouldn't go away, and that kept insisting I needed to write it, had benefit for others. The students loved the story and this was encouragement. Cathie too has said she loves it. One of the men said he couldn't put it down. High praise from a man, I feel.

I am grateful for all the service and help given through the office as well as tutor and audios and written handouts. I have a sense of having achieved something worthwhile. I had three copies printed and bound at Office Works to give to beta readers outside of AWC students and feel proud to have something of worth for them to read, prior to a final print run.

I very much enjoyed the course and it gave me a big confidence boost.

I thought the feedback was great. It was very detailed and encouraging and personalised. It exceeded my expectations.

I really enjoyed the assignments, reading other people’s work and receiving and reading feedback (both my own and others).

It was so wonderful to receive personalised feedback and to begin to understand the craft of writing. It has given me tremendous confidence and ignited a spark to push forward.

The tutor was very engaging to listen to. Knowledgeable. Provided personal experiences as examples. Most importantly, provided tailored feedback, making this course personable and student-focused.

I enjoyed putting the course content into practice through the assignments. Thereby showing us, we CAN do it!

By giving me the tools I need, the course has bridged the path forward for me to start out! Now, I just have to find self-confidence to overcome imposter syndrome lol.

The tutor was down to earth, easy to listen to, knowledgeable, professional. The homework modules were quick and easy but also fun

I feel like I now understand what copywriting is which has meant I am more confident in exploring this option as a potential career change.

Bernadette provided fantastic content that I felt was really good value for the cost of the course. She was easy to understand in the video modules and it was very easy to follow the course process and expectations. She gave very constructive feedback to everyone. I gained confidence after the feedback and am now a bit sad that I won't have anyone telling me that I have done something brilliant next week.

After the initial shock of the publishing of our warts and all copy to everyone, I found it helpful and I learned a lot from others’ input and their creativity.

I have gained confidence and now just want to do this for life.

I have had an interest in doing creative writing for a few years and I finally decided to join the course.

The tutor was very good. Great feedback and very encouraging. She showed personal interest in all students.

I enjoyed the systematic teaching, the assignments, and meeting fellow writers on the same journey.

I feel I am using a talent I never knew I had. It has given me so much confidence to keep writing.

My only hesitation was that I might not have the time to do it properly with work and home life. I delayed signing up for years because of this but always kept an eye on when the next course was coming out.

I loved the tips and examples in the course material! I finally have a method for feature writing and pitching to editors. I had no idea about either of those things before, it was very much trial and error. I feel more confident incorporating freelance writing into my communications consultancy now.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of information and its detail in the course. The feedback on assignments was excellent in the care taken to consider different aspects of the writing

The tutor was generous with her time and encouragement, well prepared, attention to detail, feedback unfailingly delivered in a constructive and positive way.

I enjoyed the opportunity for self-paced learning and appreciated the care that had gone into the lessons and resources. It also forced me to write several stories for children which otherwise I might not have done.

It has made me think again about the start of my novel. I will shorten the lead-in and get into the action sooner than before. There was something about the first chapters that was niggling at me and this course clarified what the problem was. Also writing the elevator pitch for the last assignment led to me revising the elevator pitch for my novel and clarified for me what the novel was really about. I also revised the synopsis giving it a new emphasis.

I wanted a kick start to write that picture book I'd always been wanting to write.

Zanni was wonderful and very thoughtful in her feedback. She knew exactly what she was talking about and provided actionable steps to improve the manuscript.

I now have two picture book manuscripts that I'm proud of. One is more polished than the other but I feel I'm ready for next steps and learning more.

I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed the course, and really learnt some great new skills from it, so thank you.

Bernadette was great. Really engaging delivery. Great tips for structuring content, which is what I was after. She inspired me to think about things differently for my writing and my business.

The assignments were good, and feedback useful. All in all I enjoyed the course.

I absolutely loved learning from Bernadette! I learned so much each week and it was really cool to watch my writing get better (and easier) just with a few tricks. Her feedback was always so encouraging as well as helpful. I was really able to learn from it and see things I could do to improve next time.

I loved it all! The videos with the audio was really engaging and the content was amazing. I loved that all the assignments were really practical and we actually got to put what we learned into action.

My ability to come up with things to write has taken off. Having a guide for how to come up with and write copy has been so fundamental and I feel more prepared than ever to get running with my freelance writing business. So, so thankful I chose this course!

It's absolutely worth the cost and I can personally recommend it. I'm excited myself to take further courses in the future!

The tutor was excellent. It was interesting to have feedback provided in audio form, rather than just written.

The videos were easy to watch and well structured. I loved seeing what all the other students were coming up with. Also enjoyed listening to the feedback and hearing Bernadette's thoughts and ideas on our assignments.

It has given me new confidence that I could 'put myself out there' as a copywriter and potentially create an income stream from this. The course has shown that copywriting is not especially difficult, but that there are formulas and 'tips' to use to give the copy more impact and make it more successful.

The formulas (and tricks) explained in the course are all definitely being used out there in the 'real world', especially in advertising. And once they're pointed out, you start seeing them everywhere!

I'd say that the course is a good introduction to copywriting and can be easily undertaken in your spare time without any stress/pressure.

A big thank you to Bernadette for tutoring the course.

Margaret was positive, warm and compassionate. I loved how she found something to love about everybody's writing and found a way to connect with it.

I really enjoyed the online tutorials and learning about the technical side of putting a story together.

Although posting my work made me feel very vulnerable, having people comment on my writing and saying what they enjoyed about it gave me the confidence to keep trying. I think the community was really important for all of us.

I learned what a disciplined and highly skilled craft this is and that great writing doesn't happen by chance or accident. I'd always imagined people writing because it came naturally to them, but I've come away with an understanding that it's hard work and that having a passion for it is only half the job.

It was engaging but also highly practical for those wishing to pursue a career in writing.

I loved the amount of detail we covered, and Zanni's constructive and honest feedback. The way she explained different methods was inspiring and you could tell she is very knowledgeable!

It has inspired me to keep writing. Zanni's encouragement gave me the boost I needed to submit a manuscript to a publisher. Wish me luck! ;)

I wanted to get back into writing and really wanted to get a start on my novel. So going back to basics was the best possible start.

I thought Margaret was so very kind and even when she was giving criticism it was always so helpful.

I really liked completing the assignments and getting feedback from both the tutor and my peers; I thought that was very worthwhile. I also thought the handouts and recordings were beyond beneficial. I learnt so much from that that I could put into practice.

I am ready to get working on my characters and start writing my novel.

I would say that it is a safe, creative environment with like-minded writers and it is a great starting place for getting your writing career on track.

Angela is wonderful. Her expert feedback is honest, supportive, and always positive. She always starts her assessment with something positive, this is just so wonderful for a budding writer, but at the same time, she always helps you understand how you can improve. I cannot speak more highly of her; I would most definitely be a repeat customer if she was leading the course.

I enjoyed the regular exercises to develop skills and reading everyone's writing. It was so wonderful to see how other people write, that they too struggle with similar issues to myself and that there are so many ways in which you can approach a scene. I learned so much from my fellow writers in a short five weeks.

It completely changed my approach to how I write. I realise now I was trying to magic up fantasy from a place where nothing was familiar to me and while I would often begin with a great idea, I would fast lose momentum as I got into the minutiae. But when I started to look for inspiration from all the little moments in my own life - which this course helped me realise was the best place to start - writing the guts of the story came much more easily. This was a big and fundamental change in mindset for me.

I would paraphrase my favourite author Neil Gaiman and say ""everybody has a secret world inside of them... no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them, they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds...” So why not go write them, just make sure you visit AWC on your way.

Great course, awesome tutor, an amazing group of fellow writers. If you are on the fence and an expert procrastinator like me - let it go and take the dive. You won't regret it.