Birthdays: Amiri Baraka (1934), Thomas Keneally (1935), Dan Savage (1964), James Whitcomb Riley (1849), Alice Dalgliesh (1893), Helen MacInnes (1907), William Zinsser (1922), Diane Ackerman (1948), Kevin Boyle (1960), Sherman Alexie (1966)

Tip: Start your story with a bang. A dynamic first line draws readers in. Make something happen.

Thought for the day: “Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” – William Faulkner

Jumpstart: Pick a classified ad from the paper and write a story about it. Who wrote the ad? Why? What is it for?