What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I'd always leaned more towards being a big reader and editor rather than a writer myself. This year, though, I wanted to try something different. I've written short stories and the starts of so many novels over the years, so when I received an email from AWC with this course listed I thought, why not?

Pamela's feedback and the comments from other students were fabulous and really helped me develop my work over the course. Pamela was super helpful and understanding and her feedback was wonderful. It was constructive but she also pointed out parts of our stories that she loved.

I enjoyed writing in different ways and reading other's work.

The course has helped me discover my writing style and develop more ideas in my head that I now can't wait to put on the page. It's a great way to develop your skills and keep your creative mind active.

I enjoy writing and was looking for a way to improve my style of writing and also learn skills that can help make my writing better. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to complete all of the assignments.

The tutor seemed very nice, and it seemed like she knew what she was doing, and enjoyed doing it as well.

I found it fun to listen to the lessons and learn tricks and advice for writing. It helped me to increase my writing skills and learn more about characters and writing in general.

It's a good way to strengthen writing skills and learn how to improve techniques and style. It's a fun and engaging program and it has helped with my confidence in writing and storytelling. Thank you for giving me this experience.

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.

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.

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.

I've been receiving the AWC weekly email for a couple of years now and been reading about this course. Now was a good time for me to dive in and see what it was like.

The assessments were the most valuable part of the course as Cat's suggestions were especially eye-opening for me.

Cat was very perceptive and appeared to give everyone solid counsel as well as good encouragement.

I enjoyed Valerie's podcasts. I learnt many new things that are particular to feature writing which I appreciated.

Well done, Valerie and Cat. And thank you!

If you're wanting to be a freelance writer then do this course!

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.