Stephen North--Some Positive Ideas

"The essence of the writing center method, then, is this talking.  If we conceive of writing as a relatively rhythmic and repeatable kind of behavior, then for a writer to improve that behavior, that rhythm, has to change--preferably, though not necessarily, under the writer's control" (443).

"Talk about the rhetorical situation" (443): assignment, deadline, teacher-as-audience, prior experiences, work done so far, research attempted or considered, other non-academic issues affecting the composition

"Playing with options" (443): "compare opening strategies" and organizations and conclusions and ways of illustrating points etc.; "poke around in resources" like doc formats, EbscoHost and JSTOR and other search engines and their databases; "We can ask writers to compose aloud . . . or we can compose aloud" while listening for the sound of the language as readers.

Harris, Muriel.  “Modeling: A Process Method of Teaching.”  College English 45 (1983) 74-84.

North, Stephen.  “Training Tutors to Talk About Writing.”  College Composition and Communication 33 (1982) 434-41.