What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I wanted some guidance on writing a novel as I had never attempted a long piece of writing before. I thought some help on structure would be good.

Cathie was great. She gave very considered feedback and tips on what to look out for and how to improve.

This course forced me to make decisions that I had been putting off - just little things like my character's name and the plot! I now feel much more confident that I will finish the novel I'm writing. I'm not totally sure what the final plot will look like but I'm a lot closer now than before.

The AWC is very professional, very collegial, very much worth doing a course with.

It was invaluable to have a professional of Cathie Tasker's calibre on hand through this process. Terrifying, but invaluable. Cathie is friendly and approachable.

Over the 10 weeks, a real dynamic and connection was made between the class members. I hadn't really expected that. Being in a like-minded, respectful space.

For me, every module contained an ‘aha' moment. Now, it's my aim to fully understand, and apply these. Apart from the obvious educational angle of the writing craft, the process has ignited a passion greater than I was aware was there.

AWC offers an incredible resource of industry talent, combined with solid educational content, professional courses and access to so much more.

Thank you for the inspiration. Now, I only hope I have the ability to turn a dream into a reality.

I enjoyed meeting new people; their feedback was so helpful. I did not realize there was so much to think of when writing and this course has help me get started and now I am 64,000 words in.

It has given me confidence and the feeling that "yes, I can do this."

If you want to write a novel, AWC courses will get you started and provide encouragement and constructive feedback.

I had an idea for a middle grade novel, which I started writing. Not having written a novel before, I felt that this course would be very helpful in getting my first draft started.

It made me stick to a writing schedule. I felt motivated and I enjoyed the workshopping. The tutor was very knowledgeable and more than happy to provide extra feedback when requested.

Worth every cent! I am now determined to continue writing my middle grade novel.

Cathie was excellent. She offered detailed feedback and explained the reasons for her comments, which has helped me learn to write better.

The workshopping and the tutor feedback were invaluable. Gives me yet more impetus to keep writing with the advice and feedback I need to do it better.

I enjoyed reading Cathie's comments and suggestions, not just for my work but for other students. If she made similar comments to me, I felt I was on the right track. When Cathie made suggestions, I made the necessary changes and it improved my writing

I really loved the audio, and will replay the modules for a 'booster' during the next few months. I enjoyed reading other people's work, irrespective of genre, and agree that workshopping their writing improved my own.

The course has given me the self-confidence that I initially lacked, and it has motivated me to continue writing, even though I am aware it may take years to reach my goal.

Do it! I have already recommended AWC to a couple of friends toying with the idea of writing a novel or memoir, and given examples of how I feel the courses have helped me.

Cathie is so detailed in her feedback, I read all of them, not just my own because there was so much to learn from the other students' work as well.

I enjoyed finding writers working in a similar or the same genre as myself. It was so comforting to know I wasn't alone on this mad journey, and reading their stories now as they too tried to find their feet with it was a huge help with me beating back my own self-doubts.

By week 3 I had hit my 20K word goal.

If writing is what you want to do, but you have no idea how to start, you need AWC.

An excellent program, well-structured and narrated.

There was so much information available to help understand the technical side of writing and the implications of those elements on the writing itself. Despite being a prolific reader, I'd not looked at it quite this way. Nothing was new, and yet when outlined, everything was new!

If you want to understand how to maximise your writing, do this course.

It was genuinely lovely to engage with everyone in the class and our tutor. The audio lessons contained solid technical writing advice and were also easy to listen to, in the manner of a podcast.

Bernadette was very warm and engaging, whether in the Zoom sessions, in her audio feedback or in the course chat. She provided great advice on things to improve and it was very lovely to hear her appreciation of my work as well.

It was a highlight to see people engaging with my story. Having my character and story be 'real' outside my head : )

The course gave direct things to action, such as how to set writing time and how to technically improve things in writing. It also provided stories from authors to give an encouraging view of the writing journey which certainly encouraged me to keep going.

If you want some solid things to improve in your writing and have a solid novel opening/synopsis, give this course a go. You will receive not one, but a number of feedbacks on your work, including from an industry expert. And it's all in a friendly group setting.

Bernadette was very knowledgeable and shared her knowledge willingly. Her feedback was always considered and backed by her wealth of experience.

The course has made me even more determined to follow my goal of being published one day.

This course is like caffeine to the creative process. It stimulates the creative process. The course material and Bernadette's (the tutor) feedback and the workshopping stimulates and aids creativity.

Bernadette is great. She is considerate and sensitive but also delivers the medicine required to make you better. I felt she had a genuine interest in helping me. I wish I could keep her :) A teacher is one who encourages and challenges - yep, Bernadette is great.

I enjoyed all the course material; it was well-presented and very helpful. Workshopping is brilliant and very valuable and helpful. I would have to say though most enjoyable was tutor feedback from Bernadette; you can't go past expert guidance!

I want to keep writing! My goal is to get as much of my first draft done so I can then enrol in the Write Your Novel course. Then it will be onto the editing course and so on. I will not stop until I have a polished manuscript to present to a publisher! Even then I will keep writing!

Thank you AWC for the learning opportunity. Thank you Bernadette for sharing your wisdom, expertise and guidance.

If you want to write then the AWC will help you begin and to go on and on and on :)

I had completed Creative Writing Stage 1 and I knew I needed more direction in piecing together the novel that had been floating about in my mind. Novel Writing Essentials was the logical next step.

I was a little nervous about what would be expected during the course and how my novice words would be received but I was pleasantly surprised by how much this course has encouraged me to keep writing.

Angela was great. Incredibly knowledgeable and generous with her feedback and the resources she provided.

I loved learning about plotting and structure and finally putting my words out there and not being laughed out of the room - ha! I also loved reading other students' stories - so much creativity.

It's given me the tools to finally plot and structure the novel I had been thinking about for years. I could finally see what it could potentially look like from start to finish. The feedback I received has also encouraged me to keep writing and has shown me that I have a story that could actually work.

One hundred percent, do the course! AWC is fantastic. They make writing a novel actually seem possible and give you all the tools to make it happen.

Loved it. Thank you :)

Angela has a wealth of knowledge and was very generous sharing it with us. Not only did she give a tremendous amount of feedback, keeping it positive and helpful, she also shared experiences with us via Zoom. She is a wonderful, honest and inspiring tutor. She is also a brilliant writer but didn't have any ego issues at all, as most genuinely talented people I have come across in life tend to be.

I enjoyed sharing feedback with my peers, both the receiving and giving. Sometimes this also led to small discussions which were also helpful.

It reinforced my self-belief which had become very wobbly after dealing with chronic fatigue for so long. While I was working part-time I never had energy left over for writing. Prior to that I could do both, but I was out of practice.

If you're half-thinking about doing a course, stop dithering. Do it! You get more value than you could possibly believe regardless of your current skill set.

The feedback from other students as well as the tutor was really great. The feedback from everyone was inspiring. The tutor was very knowledgeable and relatable. Provided great insights and information.

Really excellent courses and tutors. Worth every cent.

I wanted to make sure my story was off to a good start and that it was something people would be interested to read.

I had taken a long break from writing and was not sure if I was ready to jump into a course like this, or if I needed to give myself time to get back into a routine first.

Angela was incredibly helpful and generous with her comments and the resources she shared with the group. Her feedback was always insightful and she always asked questions which got me and my classmates to think a bit more deeply about our work - once I get through to my next draft there will be a lot to incorporate and hopefully make my story better!

I loved reading everyone else's amazing submissions and getting to read things that I would not normally read - we had such great writers in our group! Receiving feedback on my own work was scary but it helped me to see what people liked about my novel and where there were opportunities to improve.

I'm inspired to keep going and get to The End. I now have a routine and a weekly word count goal and I have proven to myself that I can do it - no more excuses!

I think after I submitted my first piece and read the comments from my classmates and tutors, I had a moment of "Oh, they liked it! I should keep going!" and that has spurred me on to keep writing and get to the end.

I have done a couple of courses through AWC now and I have always found them to be very inspiring with great course material and wonderful, helpful tutors. My advice would be if you want to get your story off to a good start and learn some fundamentals of writing along the way, then Novel Writing Essentials is perfect for you.

I wanted to learn more and also wanted the discipline that taking a course would impose on my writing. Angela's reputation and abilities as a tutor were a deciding factor also.

The comments and information from Angela Slatter were really helpful. The feedback not only from the tutor but from others on the course was a lot more helpful than I realised it would be before the course began. I haven't done a course with feedback like that before and had no idea how useful it would be.

I have been very disciplined about my writing and have really progressed my novel over the weeks. The feedback has helped me expand my thinking about plot, characters and structure especially and has been really great.

Angela Slatter talked about how she splits her novel into four sections and uses that to guide her writing. Structure is something I have (and still) struggle with. I found by splitting the book into four and using the main structure points as waypoints then writing the chapters that led from a to b to c to d it helped enormously to not only get the work done, but to have a much clearer path on how to get it done. It's helped my writing enormously.

Great courses. Great teachers. You might think the courses are expensive but they're worth every penny. You get what you pay for.

The whole thing was a really enjoyable experience and I'm glad I did it.

Angela gives great feedback and always finds extra information that is helpful. Her advice is practical and straight-forward. Brilliant.

I enjoyed the weekly lessons and learning additional skills about writing. I picked up a lot of things to look out for in my own writing by reading others and this will be helpful.

Novel Writing Essentials is the perfect follow on from Creative Writing Stage 1 and will take your writing to the next level.

The tutor was thorough, clearly very skilled as a writer and as a tutor, honed in on important aspects of the piece, and her guidance has helped me be a stronger writer already.

The course itself is excellent. I enjoyed reading other stories - inspired to read different genres.

Do it! I have already recommended AWC to several people and will continue to do so. I researched writing courses before connecting AWC and my decision has not been questioned. Keep up the great work! I am going to enrol in Write Your Novel as well as other shorter courses.

Jenny was thorough and helpful with her feedback and suggestions. I valued her input, and feel my story was stronger from what I learned. Reading Jenny's feedback to other students was equally as valuable.

I enjoyed the interaction with other students, and the opportunity to read and comment on a wide range of genres. It was great! The timeframes were a bit challenging for me, and I did not make the word count goal I set, but I'm carrying on with renewed enthusiasm.

I'm energised and happy with the way my story is progressing, and I met some really interesting people. Some of us have decided to keep supporting each other after the course finishes.

Great value, excellent content, credible tutors - just go for it.

Pamela was an outstanding tutor. She was highly professional, gave clear and specific feedback and shared a wealth of knowledge and experience. I not only learnt a great deal from her about the craft of writing, but I finished the course feeling highly motivated, with a swag of practical advice that is really helping me to improve and progress my first draft.

I not only enjoyed the content of the modules, but getting to know the work of other participants through workshopping. It was motivating to feel part of a group of workshopping writers.

I have done a number of other writing courses, including some well-known courses in the UK. But this was the first time I felt that I was learning the practical writing skills I needed to improve and progress my writing, and to approach the process of fiction writing with more confidence. It has grounded my creativity in real skills and given me the tools to start developing an effective writing practice to get me to a finished novel manuscript.

I would highly recommend the AWC to friends and colleagues, particularly because of its focus on practical writing skills and process.