how to start Rocket russian

How do you start this course effectively?  Should you 1st memorize the alphabet or should you learn the alphabet as you go.  The Write It section makes it difficult because it assumes you know how to write Russian on the first lesson.  

Any ideas?   I love the course, though. thanks.

If you want to read and write Russian you will need to learn the Russian alphabet. Grammar and Culture lesson 1.5 should give you a start. It is easier to learn letters as they appear in words, rather than in isolation. In some instances, letters are pronounced differently depending on where the stress falls in a word. (An example is the letter “O” which is pronounced “A” in the word вода (vada) water). So watch out for these little rules that will become clearer over time. It will also help to practice writing your letters and words. Just remember, that our brain remembers what we do so it is always good to reinforce what we read by writing. If we say words out loud, we learn to pronounce them; if we write words, our brain remembers how to both read and write them. Do not try and learn all the letters at once, but you should be able to cope with blocks of 3~5 letters at a time.