Birthdays: Frank Herbert (1920), R.L. Stine (1943), Claire Messud (1966), Jaclyn Moriarty (1968), John Cowper Powys (1872), Lincoln Michel (1982), Michael Korda (1933)

Tip: There are lots of reasons to quit writing. Come up with reasons to keep going.

Thought for the day: “Everything I write is different, so I can’t really generalise about where I begin. But character is very important to me – it’s why I write, I think; that and language. And if you really know a character, then you figure out how they would behave in a given situation. And the plot comes out of that, really.” – Claire Messud

Jumpstart: Finish this: The day I disappeared… (using: cemetery, weed, greenhouse)