Birthdays: Enid Blyton, Philip Ardagh, Andre Dubus III (1959), DH Lawrence (1885), James McBride (1957), Jessica Mitford (1917), O. Henry (1862)

Tip: Hang in there and keep going. Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book And to Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street was rejected by twenty-seven publishers. The twenty-eighth—Vanguard Press—sold six million copies.

Thought for the day: “Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” – Henry David Thoreau

         “I’ll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is: Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no rule 2.” O. Henry

Jumpstart: Describe in detail a perfect day.