Happy Valentine’s Day!

Birthdays: Andrew C. McLaughlin (1861), Harry Matthews (1930), Carl Bernstein (1944), Phyllis Root (1949), George Shannon (1952), Paul O Zelinsky (1953), Claire Cook (1955), Lucinda Riley (1965),

Andrew McLaughlin won the 1931 Pulitzer for “A Constitutional history of the United States”

Carl Bernstein (along with Bob Woodward) broke the Watergate scandal story

Quote: “How do you know when it’s ready to submit? My advice is to polish, polish, and polish, then put it aside for a while, take it out and polish it again.” – Claire Cook

Tip: Stop pressuring yourself. Very few writers can write brilliantly from page one. Go ahead and write “junk”. You can come back and edit it later. You can’t edit a blank page.

Jumpstart: Today is Valentine’s Day. Your character is going to meet her love at the top of the Empire State Building ala An Affair to Remember—will he be there? Why or why not?