Today is Bat Appreciation Day, Blah, Blah, Blah Day, Dyngus Day, National Cheeseball Day, Patriot’s Day, Pet Owners Independence Day and the birthday of: Thornton Wilder, Cynthia Ozick, Karen Blixen, John Ford, Herve Bazin, Nick Hornby

Tip: Cut pictures of characters out of newspapers and magazines (only your own, please) or bookmark sites on the web for visualizing your characters. Don’t pick just the pretty people. Not everyone is gorgeous and you need quirky sidekicks sometimes as well. Pick a wide variety.

Thought: “The beginning of a novel is a time of awful torment, when you’re dealing with a lot of dead pieces and you have to wait and wait for some sort of animation.” – Iris Murdoch

Teaser: Write a scene using words of only one syllable and short sentences, ala “See Spot run.” But do it as an adult murder mystery.