Craft your writer's confidence, one writing ingredient at a time.

At the beginning of the year, I ask students to tell me their “writing goal” for the year.

The most common answers I see every time are:  

None of those are bad goals.

They look nice on paper, and they sound “teacher-y”.
As a parent, the thought of your student identifying those things as important to them--kinda nice, right?  

It’s just that, those goals... Well, they’re not all that useful.
 
Here’s why: for some of them, there aren’t any clear, concrete steps to make them happen (Here’s lookin’ at you, “Don’t procrastinate”).

And students don’t know how to break their goals down to make them doable (If they had the breakdown for how to “Get an A” you probably wouldn’t be here, reading this).  

The worst part? Those goals don’t come first in the process of writing well. Writing confidently.  

Writers, ready! On your mark, get set... bake?

Here’s an example: Imagine a cake. There are basically two parts--the actual cake, and then the icing.  
Students with those goals above?

It’s like they spend all their energy focusing on the cake icing before they even know how to bake the cake itself.  

So you're probably wondering "What should they do instead?" They’re in high school. Why don’t they already know how to bake the dang cake?

Well, methods for learning to write are built a little differently.

See, it’s not like learning how to memorize historical facts, reduce fractions, or eliminate options to arrive at the right answer. “Studying,” in the traditional sense, can’t make someone a better writer.  

To do better, first, you have to do.
And to write well, you have to write–a lot. Period.  

Once they get over that mental hurdle, students can learn how to practice writing effectively. They can then go on to decode what the expectations of a good paper are, and they can take steps to improve the specific skills that matter most in generating good papers and–most importantly–better, more confident writing.  

They can start to feel good about their words. They can begin to stand out. They can finally write well.  

But again, why aren’t they already able to do this on their own when they get to high school or to college?
 
Because all their past writing experiences in the “kitchen” looked like this:

Someone pre-baked the cake for them so they only had to focus on the icing (grammar worksheets, anyone?)

or

They worked with individual ingredients (topic sentences for pre-determined paragraphs) but never had to combine them alone (write your own topic sentence and your own paragraphs)

or

They were handed all the pre-measured ingredients in the correct order to bake their cake (“Here’s this piece; where does it make sense in this example of writing?”)  

These good foundational experiences are necessary so that writing isn’t a totally new skill to them. These exercises, though?

They’re all–wait for it…  

Icing on the cake.  

Because now, every time they’re assigned a full-fledged essay, they’re alone in the kitchen. No pre-baked cake, no pre-measured ingredients. Hard to put the icing on the cake if it doesn’t exist yet, right?  

Instead, there’s just a fridge and a pantry, both stocked with raw cooking tools and materials. Maybe there’s a recipe book somewhere, and there’s probably a store within driving distance if they realize they’re out of something they need. . .  But this is likely their first time to bake the whole cake alone–icing and all.

Or maybe it’s not their first time, but the cake last time? Well, it didn’t turn out so great. (Or maybe it turned out pretty ok, but they realize beginner's luck will only take them so far… I digress.)  

The "crust" of the issue...

Students have this issue that they haven’t really “practiced” writing a solid, A-paper from scratch until the stakes are high and their work goes into the grade book.

They have no idea which ingredients work best, how long it’ll take to bake, or what to do when you accidentally add too much salt.  

Because the assignment sheet recipe may say “3-5 pages.”  

But for a newbie?  

That could take a lot longer than expected if each step has its own learning curve. Even if the answers are at their fingertips on Google, searching and processing and learning and applying will all take time.  

So.  
What’s a novice baker to do?  
How can a student with inspiring writing goals achieve those goals and become a “good writer”?  

Hi, my name is Ashley Wood. After teaching writing in the classroom for over a decade, at both the high school and college levels, I am here to tell your student:  

Put down the cake decorator and step away from the icing table.  

Those things are for making it look nice and can really bring a “wow” factor to a writing assignment. Still, while important in the context of good writing, delicious or artistic or impressive icing work on a bad cake is still a bad cake.  

Instead, students need to learn how to identify and prep the three most important ingredients for a good paper: their message, evidence, and organization.

After that, they can focus on measuring and mixing those ingredients and then combine them into a delicious base, ready for decorating.    

THEN, they can revisit the icing (which at this stage, they are probably already very, very good at).  

Here’s how to tell your student has spent too much time at the icing table, and not enough time at the cake mixer:

Or maybe you’ve heard them express these feelings:

If you know someone with feelings that fall in line with those above, then I’d like to introduce you to my on-demand, weekend workshop, Star Paper Baker.  

It’s a quick, “ingredient” mastery course.
It’s designed to fix this icing vs. cake problem in a single weekend, guaranteed.  

Here's What's Included:

Why let your student stay at the icing table, winging it, and hoping for the best?

Why not have an experienced teacher decode all of that assignment sheet teacher-speak into exactly what their teacher wants from them, in terms and language they understand?  

Why not try a different approach that's getting results when the current approach seems to be a struggle at best for your student?

Oh, speaking of results...

See what people are saying about working with me:   

Elena, one of my students in college now.

Lindsay, mom of a 10th grader

And, to top it all off, I have even more good news.

Remember that bonus I talked about? Order on this page, and I will throw in 1 month of my top-tier paper review service, Paper Doctor, for no extra charge.

That’s 30 days of unlimited paper reviews that start whenever you want it to start, from a teacher whom students absolutely love working with (their words, not mine. See above. 😊).  

Writer's Recap for Star Paper Baker

That was a lot we just went through, so here's a quick recap of what comes with the course:

I could easily sell this course for $900 and based on the Paper Doctor service, it'd more than pay for itself!

But I also have a goal to demystify writing for as many people as humanly possible, so I have to keep this accessible, too.

So with 30 days to try it, here on this page, you can get access to Star Paper Baker for less than $7 per day. Basically the price of a fancy cupcake or coffee drink each day.

Only, this time, for that tiny price tag, your student will become the most confident writer in the room, guaranteed.

Ready to get started?

Go to the next page, enter your details at the checkout, and your student can be on their way to higher writing confidence and better writing… period.  

Still reading, huh?

I get it.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance that your student can get there, to Destination Rockstar Writer… on their own.

Maybe this is the year they realize icing isn’t the end-all, be-all of delicious cake all by their lonesome.

I’m certain for some students, that’s the truth. But if you’re still reading this, I suspect you’re more worried that this won’t be that year for your student. At least not without a little extra help.

Put an end to the dread of waiting to hear “This feedback doesn’t make any sense!”... again.

When you’re ready, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Go to the next page
2. Type in your information
3. Finish the checkout
4. Sleep better this weekend

Oooh. Bonus #4 in there.