Birthdays: Lady Augusta Gregory (1852), Richard Ellmann (1918), Ruth White (1942), Ben Okri (1959), David Cronenberg (1943), James N Frey (1943), Lynda La Plante (1943), Simon Van Booy (1975)

Holidays and Observances: Ides of March, Nat’l Napping Day, Buzzards Day, Dumbstruck Day, Everything You Think is Wrong Day, Act Happy Day, Ag Day, Nat’l Peanut Lovers Day, Nat’l Pears Helene Day, Nat’l Shoe the World Day, World Consumer Rights Day

Tip: Google (or otherwise search) your name, or your pseudonym. How many places do you show up? Does anyone else share your name? Your writing should be the first thing people see about you, if that is your primary goal.

Thought for the day: “To set a forest on fire, you light a match. To set a character on fire, you put him in conflict.” – James N. Frey

Jumpstart: Today is the “Ides of March”, a day that will live forever as a dark omen thanks to Shakespeare. What is your character’s “Ides of March”? What bad thing can happen to him or her on this day that would mark it as a day to remember (or forget)?