What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I enjoyed the different tasks each week.

Nat is fantastic. Love her feedback each week. It's very constructive and delivered in a such a beautiful and kind manner. Thank you, Nat.

I think the course helped unlock some blockages I was having. The 'my three pages' has been a game changer! And the little nuggets of information shared by the authors you chose to include were also really helpful, real and relatable.

Work out what you want to achieve or learn, and then find a course that matches that, and then go for it.

Thank you once again. We don't know what we don't know. This is my second course, and I've loved both. I've learnt a lot. Thank you.

I've been putting this course off for years, with all sorts of excuses, and decided that NOW is the time to get on with writing.

The tutor was excellent. Nat has a great way of giving feedback, and I love her warm and witty comments. I found her feedback extremely valuable, and love that when I took notice of it and changed a rewrite for a further assignment, she commented really positively.

I remembered how much I LOVE writing.

It really proves that writing is a process, even if you aren't super talented but do the work and accept the feedback, almost anyone can be a writer.

Fabulous, high-quality content, presented and tutored by professionals who all have a wealth of experience.

Looking forward to doing the next stage, as soon as possible.

An excellent course, thank you - it is well planned and very practical.

I have confidence now to try out the Scrivener free trial. I think over time, if I adopt the use of Scrivener for future writing, the impact will be extensive.

I always recommend the AWC! I say it is great value, well-designed, focussed and affordable. And I say it's a lot of fun!

Solid holistic view on copywriting, basics and everything you need to know. A great refresher on some things, and learnt new things also.

It was great to receive personalised feedback on assignments.

It is a great way to support professional development, even for non-copywriters.

I enjoy reading complex characters and the interactions between many complex characters and wish to develop the skill for myself. I am inspired by speculative fiction about survival and science, for example Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series, with its large cast of individuals with one overarching goal (to terraform Mars) but each with their own belief in the "right way to do it".

I enjoyed creating the characters, their backstories, their drivers and motivations, and then being mean to them to drive the narrative tension.

I now understand better how to achieve what I want to do, to create compelling characters that will leave an impression on readers.

AWC courses are very tuned in to the area of writing you want to improve, the handouts and audio lessons cover a lot of mileage, and the courses are very accessible.

I really appreciated the breadth of examples and analysis that I could apply to my own writing and editing.

It's given me confidence to pursue my own ideas in magic realism. I'm also a musician and saw many links between Kate's analysis of the effect of syllables and consonant choice on rhythm and emotion - this was exciting for me to see WHY I love both music and fiction - I hadn't appreciated this connection before.

It will add an extra layer to my editing - I will take much more care over the emotional effect of the rhythm and sound of words. Of course (!) - I'm a musician and I didn't see this!

Petronella was very informative and constructive. Her feedback wasn't pompous or derivative. I really felt her passion and love for writing and creating stories.

The exercises were a great way to flex the knowledge being taught and it was easy to fit this within my schedule.

I feel much more equipped and knowledgeable about writing and writing something novel length feels attainable for me.

I enjoyed the character week and really spending time visualising the character as a full person rather than just within the context of the storyline. This has helped me flesh out my stories where I originally felt I hit a wall.

If you are interested in writing, this is such a good foundational place to start. A novel is very achievable with the skills you learn in this course.

I had completed Write Your Novel and I'd been working on the next draft of my manuscript, but I was keen for more support in editing it and I really value the class feedback and the regular cadence of this type of program.

Bernadette was really amazing to work with. She gave constructive feedback and was very encouraging. I highly recommend her.

Through Bernadette's and my other classmate's guidance I've learned to trust myself more in my writing. I feel my manuscript is so much closer now to being 'finished' and to be able to pitch it to publishers.

Overall, my tutor was amazing! Jo helped me so much with understanding how to improve and structure my story as well as moving on forward and understanding publishing a little bit better. I am truly grateful for the feedback and encouragement I was given and the kindness of Jo. Thankyou so much! xxx

I found it enjoyable to be able to do what I love whilst learning how to improve and steps leading further on the path of completing and publishing a story.

This course helped me structure my story and organize the timeline of events and improve my writing by making it more enjoyable to read and more captivating.

The AWC helps improve and develop a range of writing skills for people of all ages whilst remaining a captivating and enjoyable experience, providing a range of tools and skills for new authors and existing. It is truly worth it and lives up to its expectations, suitable for people of any 'level' or 'stage' of their writing journey. I couldn't recommend it more.

Thankyou to everyone who put in the time and effort to provide me with this course, it has been made very well and it was so easy to understand. Everything was explained so well and thankyou to Jo, my tutor, for helping me and providing feedback and answers to all my questions. You guys are all amazing and I am eternally grateful for the work you have put in to help people like myself who love to write and want to expand the skills and understanding we already have. xxx

I enjoyed the reinforcement of learnings from module to module, the depth that was covered, the ability to complete a short story during the course and have a finished product to show for it.

You will learn a lot and be able to put it into practice.

Bernadette was perfect. She was clearly in charge at all times but kept it light and her guidance and insight was always delivered with insight.

I enjoyed the companionship that grew from our Zoom hookups and the availability of reading their exercises and commenting each fortnight fostered companionship.

I'm encouraged to roll up my sleeves, stop dreaming and write!!!

Go for it. It's fun, directive and encouraging.

Bernadette was everything you could hope for in an online tutor! She was engaging, professional and gave constructive feedback to each of us. Bernadette spent equal amounts of time on our weekly submissions so all feedback was fair.

I enjoyed the constructive feedback, community and supportive group, exercises which made you think but were achievable.

I would like to continue with my writing and want to commence Novel Writing Essentials in 2026. It's my newfound love! ;)

I enjoyed every moment of the course. I will be more prepared and confident when presenting to kids.

I have always wanted to write a story. I saw Valerie talking about the AWC on TikTok and she sounded so down to earth, practical and real. I thought I would give it a go because of her.

I learnt so much from the very first module. I understood POVs and narratives, that was really satisfying. I loved having the courage to put pen to paper! Which the audios gave me !

It was paced really well. I had time to really go over the requirements. I loved the pace the most! And Valerie's audio tutorials were enjoyable.

I wanted a simple springboard back into creative writing; a place where I could revisit the basics and gain gentle feedback from a tutor and others in a similar boat to me.

Michelle was a wonderful tutor with such a positive, encouraging attitude. Her feedback was always gentle and helpful. I found her to be a real ray of sunshine and her passion for writing and for all of the students' work only heightened my own excitement for writing.

I loved how each module focused on a specific element of creative writing and then the submissions were all about putting what you learned that week into practice. Getting feedback from Michelle and the fellow writers in the course was such a valuable, encouraging aspect.

I came into the course wondering if creative writing was a path I wanted to explore and continue down and this course confirmed that for me. I had so much fun and the content was truly invaluable to start me on my journey.

AWC courses are the perfect springboard to get you back into writing or to extend your skills.

Thank you so much for providing a safe space for new/aspiring writers to share their work in a vulnerable, but productive way!

Michelle was encouraging, open and honest, and I really appreciated the gentle feedback she provided to help strengthen our assignments.

What stood out to me was the way the lectures weaved in different strategies that writers write... highlighting there is no wrong way. I thought I was weird for not writing my manuscript from start to finish, but in various parts, and I really appreciated that this was normalised. I felt that the lectures were realistic about the writing process which has helped to set up my expectations for the journey ahead of me.

I have a greater drive to actually sit down and do it, or to plan for my novel in some way each day to feel as though I'm making progress. I think I am doing a lot of "forward" thinking about my ideas which is new for me.

I feel more equipped for having done this course, and I feel inspired/motivated by the others in the course.

I am super glad that the AWC exists, and I [low key] hope to feature in one of your 'success story' blogs one day! [goals]

I have enjoyed the course as a starting point and I'm keen to continue on.

I thought Petronella gave good feedback and used good examples of how the skills we learned each module function in published writing.

I think I have learned some valuable tools to help me refine my writing and make my work more engaging. I also feel more confident about my ability, have a clearer idea of the publishing process, and feel more part of a writing community where lots of like-minded people are working through the challenges of fitting writing into busy lives and maintaining consistency.

I would say that it is a great way to improve your writing skills and if you are wanting to work toward publishing, it's an excellent place to learn how to do that. It's a supportive and professional environment and there are a wealth of resources to draw on.

Just thank you to Petronella and AWC, this has been a really great experience and I'm looking forward to enrolling in another course soon!

I have lots of ideas for stories for children and as I don't consider myself to have a funny bone in my body, wanted to get some tips to inject some humour.

Because I suffer from imposter syndrome and constantly wonder if I could / will ever see any writing of mine in print, I wasn't sure if the course would help me inject humour in writing for a younger audience. However I found the concepts covered could be applied to meet the expectations of readers of any age.

The practical exercises really made me think through the concepts and how they work in practice.

Excellent information. Easy to learn and straight to the point. Loved the section on colour, font and vision board.

AWC is affordable, easy and online learning. Just do it - you will be glad you did.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got out of it. I enjoyed the professional videos, interviews and helpful content.

I am motivated to get back to writing feature articles, dedicate one day a week to writing my novel/s and believe I can do it!

I'm not too old to reinvent myself and there is plenty of writing opportunities out there for me.