Birthdays: John Ruskin (1819), Jules Verne (1828), Kate Chopin (1850), Elizabeth Bishop (1911), Lisel Mueller (1924), Neal Cassady (1926), Donna Jo Napoli (1948), Barbara Joosse (1949), Rebecca Wells (1952), John Grisham (1955), Rachel Cusk (1968), Mary Robinette Kowal (1969)

Elizabeth Bishop won the Pulitzer and National Book Award and was US Poet Laureate from 1959-1960.

Lisel Mueller won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer for Poetry.

Quote: “Write a page every day. That’s about 200 words, or 1 000 words a week. Do that for two years and you’ll have a novel that’s long enough. Nothing will happen until you are producing at least one page per day.” – John Grisham

Tip: Switch writing gears. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or an article for your writer’s group newsletter. The change of pace can revitalize you.

Jumpstart: One of your characters keeps something in a box, buried where no one will ever find it. What is in there? What is the significance of the object? Where is it buried?