After drafting my article outline the rough draft process began. I received feedback on my article outline and story idea from my study-group classmates. With their comments, I refined my topic and found a good direction for my story. I wanted my story to reflect on something I had learned related to rolling out my innovation plan. I had just begun to implement my action research project and already had data to share. I decided to share "my why" and my plan, then discuss the data I had so far. 

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My draft started to flow after I had a better idea of what I wanted to write. Starting with "my why" and concluding with my data gave my story a natural progression. I also made sure to incorporate references from research for my innovation plan.

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While writing, I tried to keep in mind the guidelines for several publications, knowing that I might need to edit my story later to fit different publication standards. My initial story draft was written to propose to Edutopia.org. Something I learned while researching publication proposal processes is that most publications do not allow you to publish your article draft to your own portfolio, even though it is your article. They want content that will drive people to their site. If your article is on your personal site, people can go to your site instead of to the publication site. 

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Once my rough draft was complete I sent it to my study group for review. I received great feedback and comments that helped me to improve my story overall. I also received feedback from my instructor and incorporated those edits in my final draft.

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See this story on my blog