Read the text and fill in the gaps with the correct options.

At school, writing essays was a real problem for me, and my grades were always low. Naturally enough, I didn’t like writing and ... . I thought I didn’t have enough imagination for any kind of writing. I only understood what my problem was after school. In a scientific journal I saw an article about children’s writing problems. The author ... if they learned some rules. I read and reread the article several times. Then I ... practice. I have never become a professional journalist but from time to time I publish some pieces of my creative writing on my blog. My friends find these essays and stories very enjoyable.