Birthdays: Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932), Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), Vikram Seth (1952), Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825), Josephine Winslow Johnson (1910-1990), Paul Muldoon 1951), Robert Crais (1953)

Tip: Stay away from modern slang if possible. It changes too fast and what’s hot today may not be by tomorrow, which will date your book.

Thought for the day: “As man sows, so shall he reap. In works of fiction, such men are sometimes converted. More often, in real life, they do not change their natures until they are converted into dust.” – Charles W. Chestnutt

Jumpstart: Finish this: The noise grew ever louder, pounding, pounding… (use: willow, tarot, quilt)