Birthdays: Eugenio Montale (1896), Julie Kagawa (1982), Lester Dent (1904), Marina Lewycka (1946), NoViolet Bulawayo (1981), Aleister Crowley (1875), Paul Engle (1908), Anne Petry (1908), Robert Fitzgerald (1910), Alice Childress (1912), Logie Bruce Lockhart (1921), Robert Coles (1929)

Tip: There is no perfect time to write. There is only now. So get writing. Even if it’s only a page. A paragraph. A sentence. Just start. No ideas? Start with one of the jumpstarts on these pages. There’s a new one every day.

Thought for the day: “Indulge yourself when you write—but not when you rewrite.” – J. Martin

Jumpstart: Grams told me “sweet dreams”, but I knew that would never happen…