Birthdays: Edmund Wilson (1895), Irene Hunt (1907), Louise Meriwether (1923), Thomas Pynchon (1937), Milton Metzer (1915), Edward Gibbon (1737), Pat Barker (1943), Roddy Doyle (1958)

Tip: Conflict of some sort gives the best kind of story. Without it, the story is flat. Create conflict, but with a reason. Give your characters goals, then put them at odds with each other.

Thought for the day: “If you are a writer, you’re at home, which means you’re out of touch. You have to make excuses to get out there and look at how the world is changing.” – Roddy Doyle

Jumpstart: You’ve just found out you’re a mutant, as in the X-Men. What is your mutation? Is it obvious or hidden? What can you do?