What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I learnt so much and I'm excited to grow my current short stories into novels. I'm glad I did this course. Now to continue my writing... thank you.

I loved the Writing Picture Books course, and I wanted to learn more about writing for children and young adults to see where I fit and what ages I'd like to write for. This course was an excellent introduction to writing for these age groups.

Stephen has a quiet manner and definitely knows what he is talking about. Stephen's commentary on everyone's work was instructive and encouraging, and it made learning from mistakes a positive experience. Overall, I found Stephen to be an excellent tutor and I would definitely enrol in a course, knowing he was the tutor.

I enjoyed the challenge of writing scenarios for each assignment. I didn't have a draft manuscript or any ideas coming in, but I'm leaving with an idea for a YA novel that I'm currently working on.

If you love writing and are interested in learning your craft, I highly recommend the AWC. My writing is improving and I'm growing more confident as a writer.

The tutor's feedback was incredibly helpful! She was sensitive but was also very constructive. Lessons that have completely changed my outlook on writing for children's picture books. It was comprehensive and answered all the questions I've been searching for in one place.

This course will give you a thorough understanding of the children's picture book world. You'll touch on everything from writing and editing to research and submitting. The information is relevant and a great resource to look back on in the future.

Suzanne rocks!

I liked the online lessons as well as the assignments and exercises (I guess that's all of it really!)

It's a wonderful gift to give yourself, to make the time to write with others, and to learn from those who know the way.

Thank you for a very enjoyable course.

I can very honestly say this is the best short course I've taken. I've wanted to write opinion pieces for some time, and Vivienne's content, delivery, practical advice and feedback have given me the confidence to move forward.

Vivienne is an amazing tutor and an asset to AWC. Vivienne is highly engaging, very honest and very candid in sharing her experiences as an opinion writer. I appreciated the feedback she provided; it was incredibly detailed, valuable and confidence building. I also thought the content she developed and delivered was very practical and easy to apply.

I enjoyed the exposure to students with very different backgrounds, writing styles, experiences and opinions - it highlighted that anyone can be an opinion writer, on just about anything. You just need to be passionate about your opinion and able to write and present it well.

Vivienne's practical advice, templates, detailed feedback and encouragement have given me the confidence to write and submit an opinion piece.

Thanks for a great course! I will be keeping an eye out for more short courses in future :)

I thought it was a great course! I enjoyed it a lot and have recommended it to friends. It's given me a kickstart to introduce writing as an everyday practice, or at least a few times weekly.

It's a great opportunity to explore writing creatively in an unpressured environment. You have weekly assignments which you get feedback on, which is wonderful, and the tutors are really good! I recommend the course to anyone thinking about dabbling in creative writing.

I am a trainer and often find myself very critical of other trainers, but I was very impressed with Vivienne's content and delivery. She made the course informative and engaging. Her feedback was thoughtful and valuable and was such that I could easily incorporate it into my writing.

I had never considered writing publicly before doing the course and am now considering submitting the piece I wrote to Eureka Street.

Two of my friends were doing the course and highly recommended it. I just love to write and find hurdles in getting through the editing and keeping inspired.

The tutor was great and the feedback really intricate and helpful. I do like how our characters and writing are taken seriously. I enjoyed the reading of others' work and the interaction and receiving feedback on my own work from tutor and peers.

I have novels in drawers (files on my computer) that are only first draft and now I feel excited to be able to revisit them with more knowledge around structure and character development and plotting. I don't have a problem with getting the words down; it's all in the editing. I feel more confident now to tackle that.

The course helped change my perspective about me being a never published writer - it has given me hope!

Bernadette is extremely knowledgeable and that shines through in her speech. I believe that she's an authority on this subject and would be inclined to get additional mentoring from her. Her feedback on my assignments has really emboldened me to get started.

The AWC has experienced instructors, valuable content and great opportunities to network.

Thank you AWC and Bernadette!

The course gives a great outline for starting your story. It gives you the confidence, not to be scared, to be yourself and write whatever you like and don't be afraid of what appears on the page.

It's made me hungry to start writing.

I was lucky to be a part of a group that formed an excellent community. The tutor was brilliant, insightful and delivered feedback in a gentle but thought-provoking way that made you improve not only the current piece but any future works.

I'm more confident and sure of my future path for my writing. Chasing perfection isn't possible, but what you do learn is to be confident about your own work and to stop searching for somebody to tell you that you're a good writer, instead I realised it for myself. I'm happy and confident in my work, I know I'm a writer, I'm proud of my work, and I no longer need anybody else to validate me.

I have written several books for my nieces and really wanted to develop that skill. I have completed a course here previously and always find the content easy to follow, clear and the price reasonable. I like the community it creates within the course group. Everyone is here for the same reason and all the feedback received from Suzanne and fellow classmates is constructive and supportive.

Suzanne was practical in her feedback. I feel that the advice given was constructive, supportive, clear and she didn't coddle us. There's nothing worse than being told your story is amazing, when all you want is feedback. Families are biased so it's useful having a tutor.

I enjoyed the freedom to write what you wanted and write different stories each week or work on the same one. There was no pressure to write a certain topic. Also, as always, reading everyone else's work and watching the skill of your fellow classmates improve is an added bonus.

I'm used to writing short stories where you have to be quite a bit more descriptive so it was really interesting and fun to learn the balance between author/illustrator.

The courses provided by AWC are fun, informative and have a wonderful sense of community. If you have ever thought about writing or are looking to sharpen your skills then this is the place for you.

Thanks - and see you for the next course.

I just loved how it was short, sharp and highly focused.

Vivienne was exceptional. She guided us to the knowledge we needed and, at the same time, made us feel as professional equals.

I enjoyed the deadline driven nature of the learning.

I'm going to send off my opinion piece next week. It has been the best confidence booster because it focused on doing things, not thinking things.

I did the freelance writing course in 2014 but for various reasons I have never pitched or been published. This short course was an excellent refresher and confidence booster to follow that course. Loved it.

You get the knowledge and the encouragement you need to make your writing into a real and satisfying part of your life. Do it!

Stephen gave me constructive feedback. I can definitely work with this to improve my writing skills.

I enjoyed the connection with others doing the course and the fact we had a shared goal in mind.

I now look at the world in a different way and look forward to writing every day.

A great way of developing your writing skills on your own terms.

My tutor was really helpful and kind. She gave detailed feedback on how to improve my assignment writing and so on.

I can express my point clearly in my stories and writing. Also, my writing speaks out to the reader better than before.

It was an amazing and useful experience and I learned a lot from it.

I would like to thank Miss Allison for her teaching and the AWC team for this amazing learning experience.

The course makes you want to give it a go. I liked that. I have started writing a story/draft now.

For a beginner, it was great. Thank you. The course has been interesting, fun and has had a positive effect on my 'doubt devil' :-)

I was slightly nervous about whether I'd meet the deadlines, as they're very tight and the workload is high. But that's also what attracted me - I wanted to really knuckle down, and the group accountability helped ensure I achieved my goals.

Bernadette was lovely. Obviously very knowledgeable, but also extremely kind, sensitive and encouraging with her feedback.

We formed a really tight writer's group, which will now extend beyond the course. This has been the greatest and most unexpected outcome for me. The opportunity to give and receive feedback on entire manuscripts was also incredible, and not something that is easy to find elsewhere.

Every bit of writing you do gets you closer to finishing a draft. It can be hard to see the finishing line at times when you're working on something so big, but chipping away, bit by bit, really does get the job done.

Aside from having access to an experienced industry professional, you will also have access to 15 beta readers. That alone is worth the price of admission!

Thank you so much to the AWC, and to Bernadette in particular. I thoroughly enjoyed this course. While I'm sad it's over, I'm heartened by the fact that our writing group will continue. I hope to be able to come back someday soon and tell you my book made it to print!

The course appealed to me because of its content. I loved the idea of producing 5000-word excerpts and getting feedback from participants. Having such an experienced tutor was an extra bonus. Not many courses offer that luxury.

I was nervous about enrolling and unsure what I was getting myself into, whilst working full time. I was happily surprised to find a very supportive network of people I could trust sharing my work with.

I learnt so much from everyone. We had such a diverse group and reading everyone's excerpts and getting feedback from them was such a bonus. It really surprised me and has taken me to another level with my writing, even though I know I have a long way to go.

I loved Bernadette. She is so honest and gently guides you in the right direction with your writing. I felt very lucky and privileged to have her as a tutor.

I enjoyed the group interactions, reading everyone's excerpts, getting feedback. Also having deadlines to meet. I know that we were very lucky to get such a super group of people, and am certain that we will remain in contact with each other now the course has ended.

The course gave me inspiration to keep writing and made me aware of how much I love to write. When Bernadette told us at our first Zoom meeting that, from now on, we should consider ourselves as authors, that really spurred me on.

I am so pleased I enrolled in this course and will definitely think about doing more courses with AWC. It has been a great experience.

Like the Nike slogan says: Just Do It. You will learn from the best.

Bernadette is the perfect tutor - so knowledgeable, kind, wise, thoughtful, insightful.

The continuing course deadlines meant that by the end of the course, I finished the second draft of my novel, my main aim, and I now have a clear way forward to finish the third draft.

Not only did we have the benefit of the feedback of an expert, but it is hard to quantify the benefit gained from reviewing the work of classmates. That was for me the best way to learn how to identify faults in my own writing, and the skills I learned will remain with me.

All the writers enrolled in the course have now formed an enthusiastic writing group, based on the same AWC guidelines for friendly discourse.

My aha moment was the first time I saw a fault in a class mate's writing that I had failed to see in my own. The act of reviewing others' work allowed me to see my own more clearly and I have retained that ability beyond the course.

The AWC is a professional, well-organised, reliable organisation with tutors who have proven skills in writing and publishing. Their courses are thoughtfully constructed to give participants the best outcome for their own writing.

Bernadette was extremely helpful in providing constructive and thoughtful feedback. I enjoyed the wealth of knowledge and templates that was made available to us.

My writing and my informed thinking regarding my writing is well developed thanks to this course. A great resource for business owners or anyone working with creative elements.