Austin explained that he wrote a lot in class today and was offered help developing his story. He was reminded that one of the main goals is to capture the reader's interest right at the onset of the essay and to whet his appetite and get him to want more. Austin requested to read more chapters in the novel by Louis Sachar. He demonstrated excellent attention to detail, listening skills and expertly explained the changed dynamic between the protagonist and supporting characters. As Austin reads regularly, he is exposed to a rich tapestry of vocabulary, sentence structures, and storytelling techniques. Furthermore, this exposure is like a toolbox for writers as it enriches one's vocabulary repertoire, gives more words to use, different ways to construct sentences, and a better understanding of how stories can be told. The reading component also helps one find one's preferred style of writing. In simple words, sometimes one's genres of the novel become favorite writing styles. Austin was queried about vocabulary and did a good job explaining them in his own words. I will share an idea I have which will combine his love of drawing with writing skills at our session next week.