A case study examined the brief conversations about writing that took place between a high school English teacher and two of his students. One illustrative writing conference conversation lasting 1 minute and 19 seconds shows how, through the push and pull of their short exchange, student and teacher simultaneously read the book, read the writing assignment, and read each other, revising their "readings" along the way. Another such conference between the teacher and a different student, lasting 1 minute and 1 second, illustrates how the student examined a rhetorical strategy that had begun to look problematic and worked through a solution that confirmed her original plans. Because he has limited amounts of time in which to converse with each student, yet places high value on such talk, the teacher has adopted four strict strategies to make such conversation possible. These "ordinary" and quickly fleeting exchanges between teacher and student are critical events in the business of learning to write. (RS)