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Testimonials

Songwriting Part 2: Lyric Writing And Performance Of Songs, 30 July 2016

"Thank you! I finished my 1st song."

 

Songwriting Part 1: Songs Are Great Works Of Art, Melody Composition And Chord Progression, 23 July 2016

"Great! Dezz is such an awesome teacher."

 

Structural Editing Of Non-fiction: Location, Location, Location,  15 July 2016

"The instructor was clear and able to share her experience with the class in an interesting manner. This was a very useful course that I’d recommend for all aspiring editors."
"Shelley is a very experienced and knowledgeable trainer who is warm and engaging. Thank you!"
"The course allowed me to have a better understanding in my current job." 

 

Honing your craft- Advanced Copyediting and Proofreading,  14 July 2016

"I think Shelley has done a great job in showing the humanity behind editing. There are many grey areas in editing and its great to understand the balance between what is generally known to be correct and the style guide."
"This is an extrememly useful course that has made me more aware of the necessary things to look out for while copyediting. It has also given me a lot of resources to start my own style guide and tips about various common errors."
"The course was a great help in providing editing techniques and tips, many highligh applicable pointers and engaging case studies."

 

Managing an editorial project,  12 July 2016

"Shelley imparts her experience and knowledge in editorial project management with clariy, conviction and competence."
"Highly recommend this workshop to editorial staff from any level. Offers new perspectives, insights and very helpful knowledge that will have direct impact on real-life editorial work."
"An eye-opener, helps you to plan and schedule within timeline and improve your shortcoming as an editor. "

 

Engaging Hearts And Minds: Storytelling For Values Education, 2 July 2016

"This course has imparted great useful concepts, and also both insightful and memorable thoughts. Some elements are simple reminders really about our intuitive nature, but all in all, its good to learn about ourselves and how we think, which this course facilitates well. Thank you."
"A very engaging workshop with great stories from Sheila, so enjoyable while learning some key aspects of influential storytelling."
"Sheila is skilled and entertaining. I’ve learnt so much in such a short time."

 

Territory: Charting out Settings in Stories, 25 June 2016

"Its instructive done in a high enjoyable manner."
"Great course, gave me insight into writing in particular."
"Nice insight into how to create settings."

 

Characters through Action, 25 June 2016

"Verena allows us to ask questions and express our thoughts. She helps us to identify various techniques and devices that allow characters to rise above the text."
"The course taught me the different methods of developing characters through interesting exercises and forces me to write creatively in a few minutes."
"Wonderfully engaging and stimulating , just ‘take the step’"

 

Legacy: First steps in creating your memoir, 14 May 2016

"Its been a great course, structured, informative and engaging."
"Very helpful course and motivating. Verena Tay is very spontaneous as a storyteller and her sharings were interesting."
"The course has been an excellent start in writing and gaining confidence in one’s own ability to write."

 

Catalyst: Releasing New Writing, 14 May 2016

"Hard start to get writing again, liked the coaching and developing 1st person voice and grounding the story in situation."
"I would say this course is good as it helps to stimulate some thinking with simple objects."
"This is a very good workshop, for anyone in any field. The trainer has actually made a writer out of every participant. She makes it seem as if story writing is so easy for everyone. Hats off to her."

 

Teaching Literary Styles through Modern Poetry, 30 April 2016

"It is good, interesting and beneficial."
"This is an incredible course. The instructor is arguably one of the best at ALAP and I hope she does more of these."
"It was truly an engaging and riverting experience. The presenter’s style was light and engaging and was able to tease out all the nuances of poetry."

 

Discover The Storyteller Within You 2: Storytelling With Pictures, 30 April 2016

"Very engaging and meaningful course that teaches more than storytelling with pictures, but also theory and rationale behind the use of the materials."
"Ana addressed my interest to make good yet simple stories for children. It was wonderful experience to learn other methods of storytelling in the process. I cant wait to try it on my children."
"I was inspired by the new ideas and techniques. The sharing and discussion were eye-opening. I really liked how we were able to use hands-on practice."

 
For Writers: Pitching your work and engaging the right agents, 29 April 2016

"I learnt how to write an effective elevator pitch."
"Great interactive seminar for writers interested in getting published."

 

Write Weird and Wonderful Stories (Speculative Fiction), 9 April 2016

"I am glad that I attended this course as it taught me how to start writing a story, how to plan a story without much loopholes and how to link one character to another. I also learnt that it is important to have character traits such as physical features, bedroom/wallet details, daily routines etc."
"It was interesting to see story writing being deconstructed into such simple methods."
"It is really mind blowing and refreshing to learn a new method to churn out new plot ideas. Really fun and interactive, I thoroughly enjoyed it."

 

Impressive Marketing Plans, 1 April 2016

"A great overview to marketing guides and reminds you of the most fundamental tactics yet always forgotten about."
"This course enabled me to understand the importance of ‘marketing mix’ in promoting book and journal titles. It also gave me insights and made me think of new ideas in marketing the titles. I recommend the course to editor and marketing executives in the publishing profession."
"I learnt to look at my old problems in new light! Will implement them and try the results."

 

Copywriting Workshop, 31 March 2016

"I learnt which part of the copy to prioritise to capture audience’s attention"
"Great session overall!"
"Learnt a lot in one day, will remember it!"

 

Reading Comprehension Strategies For Children With Dyslexia, 19 March 2016

"Dr Noel Chia is a very experienced lecturer. He is humourous, able to turn something ‘dry’ to something more engaging."
"Speaker is very experienced in his area of expertise. He provides very in-depth info on the topic"
"Very informative, the trainer is knowledgeable and charismatic lecturer. Well done! Kudos!"

 

Dialogic Reading, 27 February 2016

"Duration is perfect, not too long and not too short. Resourceful and relevant to school. It was great! Very interesting."
"Its an absolute need for language teachers"
"Dialogic Reading is a really useful course. It helped me to reflect on what I know and do not know about reading comprehension."

 

Writing Styles and Techniques in Modern Poetry, 20 February 2016

"Fast pace, express course on modern poetry nicely packed into a morning"

 

Finding Success on Your Publishing Journey, 29 January 2016:

"Provided a useful background for my understanding of the publishing process and industry"
"Beneficial to aspiring and even published authors to better understand the different options of publishing"
"Very enlightening and relevant with practical knowledge and techniques and avenues to pursue interest"

 

Discover The Storyteller Within You 1, 23 January 2016:
"This course has not only helped me to realise that we are all storytellers in the making, it has also empowered me to gain more confidence in engaging or communicating with an audience / other people."
"Ana shares great practical, simple tips about storytelling that anyone in different line of work can apply meaningfully. I’m thankful for this opportunitiy."
"I enjoy each and every part of the course. Clear explanations and the fun of presentation as a teamwork."

 
Reading Stories Aloud, 26 November 2015:

"I love this course! Adequate pace and providing feedback on our storytelling. Everyone was given a chance to participate. I learnt how to storytell better and to choose interesting books for children."

"It is very lovely, well-prepared and nicely paced with proper practical sessions."

"This is a great workshop that gives participants a crash course in vocal techniques, correcting their pronounciation and teaching them how to be engaging storytellers."

 
Did I Hear you Write? Using Storytelling to Support Children’s Creative Writing, 21 November 2015:

"I really enjoyed the workshop and practical examples given. They were clearly explained and put in practice."

"Sheila is a wonderful trainer. She’s engaging and I love the way she tells stories. Her gestures, her intonation were great!"

"It is very interesting! Storytelling can be a powerful method to boost children’s interest in writing." 

 
Come with pen and paper, leave with a story, 21 November 2015:

"I was quite amazed I could write for 10 minutes straight and come up with the opening of a short story."

"Great introduction for beginners, good encouragement for writing as well."

"It was extremely enlightening and elevates the literary morale and spirit of resourceful individuals."

 

Managing an Editorial Project, 16 October 2015:

"Shelley is very expereinced facilitator. Able to advise on concerns of participants for diverse editing of the industry."

"Informative and extremely detailed. Lots of takeaways and points to mull over and think about."

"The trainer is highly qualified and experienced. She is witty and humorous and keeps us entertained while imparting important information."

 

Advanced manuscript editing, 15 October 2015:

"Shelley’s an excellent trainer,. I thoroughly enjoyed her tips on injecting variety into a piece of writing."

"A very useful course for fiction writers trying to improve and polish their work. Very practical skills are taught with useful exercises and homework. Thank you!"

"Learnt a lot about storytelling. Very uuseful and notes are relevant and very helpful. The speaker is clear and engaging."


Writing and illustrating picture books, 26 September 2015:

"Good job! I will look at books differently now."

"Mr Lee was very enthusiastic and passionate about the course and I could tell that he truly loves his work. I can’t thank him enough for sharing his experience and would definitely love to attend another course by him."


Writing styles and techniques in modern poetry, 19 September 2015:

"Great introduction to modern poetry. I was clueless about poetry in the beginning."

"Great for amateur writers. I just loved the class and trainer! Please have her more!"
 

The process to a winning book cover, 27-28 August 2015:

"Really good introduction to book cover design."

"It was very useful. I liked that Xavier’s approach to book cover design is very conceptual."


Copyright and Licensing: A Practical Workshop, 3-4 August 2015:

"Lynette’s course is detailed, insightful and definitely helpful to all editorial/publishing professionals. She conducted the course with great humour and her industry experience was evident throughout."

"Concise, comprehensive and extremely useful course for all publising professionals!"


Fiction writing (advanced), 25 July 2015:

"I liked how the teacher managed to give us practical tips that can be applied to improve my writing."

"Overall a good course. but more emphasis should be given on plot building and comparing writing styles across different genres."


Writing textbooks, 16 July 2015:

"Insightful, good overview and practical principles of writing textbooks."

"It was eye opening and helped me be more conscious of certain curriculum design principles."

"Informative and thought provoking opportunity for networking with related industries."


Reading stories aloud, 30 June 2015:

"A very concise course, perfect for the duration given. Covered all the necessary technical knowledge. Susah was very engaging! Throroughly enjoyed the lesson."

"An interactive session with the trainer who gives feedback (constructive) to each individual and group. Engaging and entertaining."

"It’s a useful course especially for storytellers, librarians and people who speak to an audience a lot."


Young adult fiction 101: fantasy fiction, 27 June 2015:

"It was an enjoyable course that was comprehensive in its content and delivery."

"Samantha is good in explaining concepts and sharing and clarifying our clarifications."


Collaborative learning strategies for teaching reading, 19 June 2015:

"This course has taught me that learning can be fun. And no matter how big the group is, everyone can get equal opporutnities to give their ideas through CL. Thank you!"

"I learnt new and interesting topics today that I can use at work. I had fun interacting with fellow colleagues and sharing our ideas and experiences."

"This course has introduced me to various techniques to put cooperative learning strategies into use for my work purpose and related discussions. It broadened my perspective to the advantages of using cooperative learning."

 

Introduction to Copyediting, 19 June 2015:

"Thank you for putting so much effort in preparing this training, it was interesting, useful and easy to follow. I had a great time!"

"It is very engaging and interesting. There are many pointers raised that we may have overlooked."

"Useful introduction for new copyeditors as well as writers."

 

Catalyst: releasing new writing, 16 May 2015:

"This was a lot of fun, sharing ideas with other participants. I remembered why I used to love writing and I’ll continue. Thanks!"

"It was great to be around people with a similar passion for fiction and words, them being able to help one another and critique each other’s work. It helped to spark some inspiration and definitely motivated me to write more."

"Inspirational. I discovered how to create stories and feed my creativity with everyday objects. Every single object sparks off a story. It will be easier to start writing from now on."


Ancient tales/Modern spin: how to rewrite your version of old stories, 16 May 2015:

"I love it! It inspired me to take a risk with adapting folktales."

"Overall good pace and time duration, sharing of framework was useful."


A stone or a boat? Storytelling with unusual props, 9 May 2015: 

"I feel inspired by the trainer who demonstrated the technique of story-telling through the use of props."

"Good practical ideas, trainer was very encouraging and able to get all of us engaged. Good facilitators skills that we could also learn as well. I will encourage my staff to join this when available again."

" Its unusually simple yet amazingly interesting."
 

Preparing for publication, 6 May 2015: 

"Its very comprehensive, delivered by an experienced industry insider."

"Contents were very relevant to today’s needs/trends, easy to relate to the examples etc."


Pre-reading and post-reading activities, 18 April 2015: 

"It is a great course, very insightful for educators preparing reading related activites."

"I enjoyed the workshop. While perhaps hoping for more/new ideas for post-reading activities to use ourselves, it was interesting to look at Multiple Intelligences as a way of generating ideas to meet/cover the whole range."

"Great for refresher and reminders on the availability of different strategies for teachers."


Characters through action, 11 April 2015: 

"I enjoy learning from the instructor."

"This was eye opening and highly interactive, picked up lots of new ideas."

"Thoroughly enjoyed the course and felt that I’ve learned some valuable techniques that I can apply."
 

Intensive and extensive reading, 7 March 2015:

"This was very useful, revisiting the basics of reading is crucial. Good tips and theory covered, very practical."

"I want to find more happiness in reading and Dr Jacobs made that possible. There is certainly a holistic way of reading, more informative and pleasurable."

 

Learning to write memoir poetry (for primary school teachers and parents), 31 January 2015:

“Presenter was well prepared and hence helped me to open up and allay my fears on poetry. An eye-opener and its just the beginning.”

“Interesting technical aspects of poetry writing. Appreciating poetry more closely. Not intimidating at all.”

 

Songwriting – write one in a day! , 17 January 2015:

“Very good start for beginners. It is very systematic and practical. Mr Desmond Moey is very experienced in teaching beginners, he is a very dedicated instructor.”

“Excellent, dedicated and well-informed knowledageable instructor”
 

Vivid: making characters come alive, 2 August 2014:

"Verena’s workshop is short but packed with a lot of insight with fun and useful character exercises"

"Excellent for anyone interested in engaging in craft of writing. Good for beginners and more experienced people too"


Reading stories aloud, 1 August 2014:

"Kudos to Susan for helping us understand the techniques of reading aloud without too much technicalities"

"Great job Susan! You delivered the programme with grace and excellent knowledge"
 

Social media for publishers: how to use social media to connect with your customers and drive your business, 8 April 2014:

“Very professonal trainer, learnt a lot which was really useful to my work. Perfect!”

“Great tools shared especially platform that process, analyse and aggregate info, knowledge building and enjoyable course!”

“Gave very good introductions and overview of the use of social media”


Online copywriting and search engine optimisation: how to create compelling content that attracts and engages readers online, 7 April 2014:

“Tim is an exellent trainer. He has stuck the balance between being knowledgeable and up to date on happenings and tools and being able to convey the key concepts e-tips clearly engaging.”

“Tim was easily engaging and showed in-depth knowledge on the subject and communicated very clearly.”

“Tim is a good speaker and the course was very interesting. The workshop was up-to-date and well-suited to my learning needs as a marketer.”


Judge by the cover, 27 and 28 March 2014:

“This is a really educational and engaging course. I learnt so much from it. Never a boring moment!”

“Very interesting and engrossing. The trainer was very well prepared and kept all the attendees interested.”


Write better at the workplace, 24 February 2014:

“Relevant, up to date. Instructor addressed the concerns of the audience and tweaked content accordingly.”

“It was useful. It gave me confidence to write properly/correctly/appropriately.”


Copyrights for ePublications, 28 February 2014:

“Mr Seow presents an engaging and insightful course on copyrights as relates to epublications.”

“Wow! Samuel delivers a lively, rich and useful presentation on this topic with real-life examples.”

“Highly recommended for all who’s not aware of the copyright law.”


Reading Stories Aloud, 26 July 2013:

“This workshop encouraged me to be more confident about reading now that I know the key points and techniques to improve the breathing as well as reading aloud.”

“It was a hands-on and practical workshop. The techniques shared were relevant and can be applicable in any situation.”

“I’ve become more aware of the various techniques in bringing a story to LIFE. Definitely want to attend more of such.”


Build your Student’s Strength in Narrative Writing, 17 August 2013:

“It was a very well organised and efficiently conducted course. Mr Cheong is quite experienced and a master of his art, hence he had a good control over the proceedings of the course."

“I have enjoyed this workshop, it has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for teaching narrative and given me some excellent methods to use in the classroom.”


Introduction to Copy-editing for Non-fiction, 5 July 2013:

“I would recommend this training course to my fellow editors.”

“Enjoyed the class. Useful for practitioners and beginners. Good refresher for experienced copyeditors.”


Tamil Short Story Writing, 4 May 2013:

“The course provided good insight into proper short story writing.”


Advanced Fiction Writing, 4 May 2013:

“A well balanced and practical introduction to key aspects of creative writing. A great course for any aspiring author.”

“Ms De Silva was very fun, eloquent and engaging. Certainly an eye-opener to the world of fiction writing.”


Catalyst: Releasing New Writing, 13 April 2013:

“This course gave invaluable advice on writing techniques and expanding the creative mind in different ways.”


Methods for Migration from Print to eBooks and Apps, 17/18 January 2013:

“A good start course to keep myself up to date with digital publishing”