Birthdays: Thomas Hardy (1840), Dorothy West (1907), Barbara Pym (1913), Carol Shields (1935), Jack Gantos (1951), Norton Juster (1929), Helen Oxenbury (1938), Jack Gantos (1951), David Bezmozgis (1973)

Tip: Learn what writing terms mean. Genre, sub-genre, black moment, POV, GMC, etc. Knowing the jargon is as important as knowing what to do with it.

Thought for the day: “I love writing novels because the novel is such an accommodating form. You can do such a lot within one.” – Carol Shields

Jumpstart: You are cooking dinner for an important guest. This person can make or break you. Who is the guest? Why does s/he have such power over you? Write a scene where everything that could go wrong does. Write it first as a comedy, then a tragedy.