What’s it like to learn with AWC?

Grant made the course interesting, and his enthusiasm was infectious. He made it interesting and knew what he was talking about.

I enjoyed the stories and experiences about how the content related to real life.

I will have a few tips and tricks like going to the DISCO on my mind when writing.

It's a worthwhile course and maybe bring some examples of things you want to improve, or you want help with.

Pamela Freeman didn't hold back with her feedback. It was honest and she always provided an explanation or an example for her comments. There was a lot of feedback that will be very useful moving forward.

I enjoyed the course layout, the audio and the actual assignments. It was also fun to interact with the other course participants, read their work and provide constructive feedback and receive it.

It's an excellent well-rounded Introductory course for creative writing.

I'm now inspired to continue writing and start writing with a purpose. I need to draw out that story swirling inside my head and put it in writing.

Would recommend to anyone who likes the idea of writing a novel, AWC is your absolute go to. Would also recommend if you simply want to learn the craft of writing for your own enjoyment.

I will be enrolling in more of AWC's wonderful courses in the very near future. So excited to add to the building blocks and skills learnt in Creative Writing Stage 1.
Kudos to your fabulous Podcast 'So you want to be a writer' - love them.

It's great. You learn so much in a small amount of time and it really changes the way you think about your writing, giving you a whole new perspective. I am now getting a lot more specific information from AI that I didn't get before.

The online aspect really works for me as I got to see everyone's faces and everyone had input.

I have taken other courses with Grant Doyle and I value his insights from the industry.

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've had a passion for writing and several stories drafted for a long time. I needed to be proactive and learn the skills of the trade with a view to sending the stories off to a publisher.

The tutor was very helpful and knowledgeable. Feedback was great and helped me refine my works. When I had questions, they were always answered and were very constructive.

I enjoyed being able to do the online lessons and handouts in your own home at your own pace.

It's helped me get over my perfectionism, to push through the barriers when I found things difficult. It led to my developing a saying for myself 'Activate Don't Procrastinate!' and' When the going gets tough... PUSH on through!' It also helped me learn to cull my words by having to stick to the word limits. It developed my creativity and self-esteem.

An excellent self-paced course. I will not hesitate to enrol in the Masterclass course and other courses in the near future.

Pamela is obviously extremely talented and experienced and I got a lot of value from her feedback. She seemed to know exactly what to look for and at times I felt she knew my character more than I did. I was amazed how from the first assignment which was just one hundred words of a paragraph or two, how she knew my character in such depth. She could identify what didn't work and the feedback in general from her was the first time anyone outside my friend and family had seen my writing so it was good to know what I need to do to improve.

Realising how much is involved in writing a novel. Learning all the different aspects of writing. I enjoyed how well structured it was and the audio was very helpful so I could listen on the bus or on my walks to use my time efficiently.

Firstly, I realise I am not at a level to be an author just yet or finish a novel. I have so much work to do and so much more I want to learn. I am curious and enjoy learning and have now decided to keep on with my writing and hopefully improve it as much as first goal.

Each module was a major learning curve for me. But if I had to pick one it was the tips given when you are struggling with a character. Learning to swap point of views and jump into another character's mind, change from first to third person really changed things for me. I found it extremely useful to do this and to have fun with the character. I always had a very serious-minded structured approach and knowing that there is not just one way to write was a relief.

It's great for beginners. You don't have to have a novel in mind. I would recommend to use the first example and stick with that for each assignment (personally I wish I had done that all the way through). You can do most of the course on your phone if you have time constraints. It's a great course to get a real insight into what writing is all about.

I am at the stage of moving forward with my writing and this seemed the next step for me. I was very nervous about sharing my work, however in the end I found it very exciting.

Margaret was terrific and her feedback made sense and I felt was very honest but delivered so well. It pointed things out that I definitely hadn't realised I was doing in my writing.

It felt like a really supportive network to belong to and also as I got further into my writing the course content each week made more and more sense.

I feel so excited moving forward to write my novel and I have gained the confidence and am no longer second guessing myself - I can write

Even when you think you have written something really good - there is something that can be improved upon - improving your work doesn't mean it was necessarily poorly written in the first place just that it can be better

Well worth the cost involved. The courses are so well structured and thought out and it is a very supportive environment to work within.

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 most important take away for me is the course helped me to normalise the difficulties and insecurities I'm experiencing and thus turning the dream of writing into a possibility; a great deal of what is covered made me realise I have good ideas but I need to work on the craft and with persistence and commitment, I can develop the skills I need.

I think Pamela is a very encouraging tutor who gives specific, constructive feedback, and understands the obstacles that writers go through very well; her approach has helped me to focus on the joy of 'making up shit' like she said in the zoom Q&A session.

It will help you to trust you have what it takes to write instead of talking about writing.

Thank you very much for creating this opportunity.

I've had my eye on AWC for years. What I like about it is the variety of courses available and the connectivity via social media platforms. I particularly liked that AWC has a Creative Writing Stage 1 course. It doesn't feel so intimidating to join that way.

I loved being able to offer feedback and receive feedback. It was a highly valuable experience.

My group was mostly active and I found their support truly incredible. I enjoyed the community. It was great to be surrounded by other passionate writers. Especially the ones who were interactive and gave feedback/answered questions. I like that we had enough time to complete the lectures whilst still being able to manage day to day living.

I'm more tuned in to the importance of showing not telling and I finally understand the difference. Thank you, Valerie! It's to be that person hitchhiking in the mind of the character. I also feel I've become more adventurous with writing and also - at long last my characters truly have a voice of their own and don't all sound the same.

I will be recommending it to my sister. I will tell her that this is a great way to build a strong foundation to becoming the writer you've always wanted to be. It will give you the blueprint and all you have to do it build.

A thousand thank you's. I can envision a future where I finally finish a book. It was also highly valuable to get an idea of what it looks like after completing a book. I also loved the comment about focusing on one project at a time and not to be distracted by the shiny new idea- me in a nut shell.

An excellent course on the art and craft of writing at both the line level and the deeper level. Drew together threads I had intuited or was half-aware of in a more cohesive way.

So many lessons crammed in to just five weeks. My next step is to go over all of the material again. Putting it into practice and then to continue my learning with the next recommended course.

Pamela's feedback and advice on all of our assignments was where the real learning took place. Personally, Pamela's feedback on the direction of one of my planned projects was the tough love I needed and helped me re-evaluate my possibilities.

I enjoyed the courage of my cohort to provide constructive criticism to each of our assignments. The quality of the learning material, especially the optional module exercises. And Pamela's advice and feedback.

If you have even a small itch to learn more about creative writing and storytelling, start with the Creative Writing Stage 1 course.

I am currently writing a YA novel. After encountering my first 'writers block', I began searching for something to re-ignite the spark again. Completing this self-paced course has given me the encouragement and boost to get back on my laptop and finish my story.

But I found that by refreshing my previously learned skills and learning how to mould them into writing for young adults, I am so glad that I enrolled in this course.

It has re-ignited my spark to continue and finish my manuscript.

Just do it because you won't be disappointed.

I'm looking at beginning to pitch my first novel and was feeling intimidated by the process and the industry.

The course was helpful in a really practical way. It gave me a lot more confidence in approaching the pitching process.

I am writing a book and I needed to learn the techniques and devices.

Margaret is a joy to deal with always supportive.

I enjoyed the guts of it really. The tools explained and guidance given on who to read to get better at writing.

I managed to start with a small idea and now have 40K words written. If you want to write a novel then start here.

I love Kate's teaching style. It was well-structured and I always enjoy the inclusion of poetry.

I suppose it showed me I wasn't as lost as I imagined - that many of the things I already did and thought were part of the life of a writer. And it showed me how to deepen them.

I realised at one point that I was writing (and hesitating to write) a certain way because I was avoiding something in my life.

Gentle and encouraging, a self-paced course full of inspiration and illumination.

I completed Creative Writing Stage 1 and was keen to further develop my skills and have some group accountability while I aim to complete my novel.

Nat was great. I found her feedback very practical, I know what I need to focus on in my future drafts.

There is no perfect time, just leap in and make a start!

I have been blown away by all the finer details and matters that come into pitching and publishing. Pitching was covered a little in previous courses, but to have it explained in such depth was eye opening.

I really like Valerie as a presenter. It doesn't come across as scripted, rather it comes from experience and first-hand knowledge. I liked that it was self-paced, there were relevant links and also actual examples from successful authors. I really appreciated Valerie's little words of encouragement throughout as well.

I had no idea about the various pitching opportunities that occur. Because of that new knowledge and the publishers mentioned I stumbled upon a call for submissions from a publisher that suits my manuscript. I have since submitted my manuscript and cover letter. I feel confident knowing that even if this submission isn't successful, I have the skills and knowledge to seek out other opportunities.

I've recommended the AWC to a few people that have mentioned they have a passion for writing.

This course gave me the absolute formula I needed to start my team off with writing a huge series of books over many years to come. Due to this course I've written up a book proposal template, a "how to publish" guide and an "idea to book" timeline for collaboration with dozens of people in my industry in the future.

The AWC course was the best summer break investment I have made for years! I was able to sit in my lovely, aircon'd apartment during the heat of the day and learn about the most important pathway opportunity for my future. Valerie and Linda were full to the brim of knowledge and they generously gave it away freely. By working through the modules, one or two at a time, each day, I finished the whole course within a month.

I had already done Creative Writing 1 and Novel Writing Essentials and so Write Your Novel was a natural progression. On top of that, I had a draft manuscript that I knew needed a lot of work and this course sounded like the ideal way to make those improvements.

Pamela was excellent. Her feedback was incisive and super helpful. I am very grateful for and appreciative of her comments on my writing.

I enjoyed the workshopping! Not just receiving my own feedback but having the chance to read a rich variety of genres and writing styles. I enjoyed being able to help other writers.

I discovered that what I have written is worth reading by a professional tutor and writer, and by other writers on the course whose opinions I have come to value.

If you haven't done any writing courses before, start with Creative Writing 1 and progress from there.

THANK YOU!