To determine how children develop schema for text that include increasing sensitivity to text types, text categories, orthographic conventions in words, conventional story beginnings and endings, and text cohesive ties, a study examined the writing of four kindergarten children. The kindergarten had adopted a process-conference approach to writing that included a 30-minute daily writing period, emphasis on personal control with regard to topic choice, spelling and punctuation, weekly discussions or conferences about writing with the classroom teacher, and "publication" of good stories. A review was made of all the writing completed by the children in their kindergarten year. In addition, one tape of a group writing session was made for each of the final six months of the year. Analyses indicated the following characteristics of the study children's writing: (1) drawing precedes and aids writing; (2) early stories depend on drawing for meaning; (3) specific story formats are used repeatedly and help to develop fluency; (4) use of past tense develops as more story categories are included; (5) as writing expertise increases, drawing ceases to be as important; (6) use of revision develops with a sense of the author's role; (7) earlier copying of labels and stories gives way to inclusion of trade book characters in stories and recounting of previously read stories in one's own words; and (8) story size may depend on the number of pages available to make a book or on what the group sees as an acceptable length. (HOD)