Often, student writers handicap themselves because they create a distorted vision of what it means to be a writer. I try to paint a different picture for them very early on in the class. When asked what they think a writer does, students usually talk of a person who gets an assignment, turns on his computer and is able to start writing. In fact, when a parent hears that his child received a writing assignment, his first response may be, "Well, turn on your computer and get started."

The fact is, "writing" looks different for every writer. There is no one way or one right way. However, it rarely, if ever, looks like a person just sitting down and composing a good piece of writing in one sitting. In fact, trying to do so usually creates lots of tears, headaches, writer's block and fist holes in walls. I do not recommend this approach for anyone.

In actuality, many successful writers will tell you that writing is the last thing they do and it is often the easiest and shortest part. The difficult and long part is figuring out what they are going to write about. All students need to spend more time on idea generation, brainstorming, researching and organizing than actually writing.

Parent Tool:
As a parent, you can encourage your child to be conscious of his writing process and make changes to it when it is not working. Look, some students thrive on the procrastination and think best when under pressure. If they are successful with that strategy then there is no reason to change it. However, if what they really need is more time to think about and discuss ideas, creating several drafts, then they need to recognize that and make changes to the process. When working with a struggling writer, I have asked him to keep a little log of his steps as he works on an assignment. What does he do to work on the assignment when he is not with me? This way, I can give him suggestions on strategies to try at home. Just having a discussion with your child about his writing work habits, especially when choosing a good writing space, may shed some light on his struggles and successes as a writer. Also, encourage your child to talk to other successful writers. They may have some suggestions which always sound better coming from peers.