but how do I read thru the input file and create a separate XML file for each 'paragraph' of data?

The basic approach is simply to read one paragraph, open a file, write your XML into it, close the file, and repeat as necessary.

If you are asking us how to recognize the end of your blocks or how to read one block at a time, that depends on your data. You may be able to change $/, the input record separator to help you. For instance, if your blocks are separated by one or more blank lines, you can set $/ = ''; to read one paragraph at a time.

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";