Birthdays: William Morris (1834), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919), Dario Fo (1926), Jo Shapcott (1953), Tabitha King (1949)

Tip: Set up a calendar for each day and mark your progress—what you sent out, to whom, when it’s due back, how much you did that day (words of writing or pages of edits). At the end of each week, reward yourself for what you accomplished. Even if only a hundred words, that’s a hundred more than you had at the beginning of the week.

Thought for the day: “If you’re going to be a writer you should sit down and write in the morning, and keep it up all day, every day.” –  Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Jumpstart: Create a scene or story about a lie you once told—or someone once told you. What was it? How did it affect you? What happened?