Birthdays: Samuel T. Coleridge (1772), Edogawa Rampo (1894), Martin Gardner (1914), Ursula K. LeGuin (1929), Frances FitzGerald (1940), Ai (1947), Mayr Pipher (1947), Patti Davis (1952), Carrie Fisher (1956), Ellen Wittlinger (1948)

Tip: Be sure to keep various versions of your story, including cut scenes (you might be able to use them somewhere else), but keep the names logical for instance, use the title and what version it is: writingjournal_v3.

Thought for the day: “Read everything you can get your hands on, all sorts of different things—fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, newspapers, the toothpaste tube. And then, write.” – Ellen Wittlinger

Jumpstart: I stared at him as he stood there. “Wear this for protection,” he said as he handed me a vest. What was I going to do?