Birthdays: W.E.B.  duBois (1868), Frederick L. Paxson (1877), B. Traven (1882?), Erich Kastner (1899), William M. Shirer (1904), John Sandford (1944), Brad Cornwell (1944), Walter Wick (1953), Francesca Simon (1955),

Frederic Paxson won the 1925 Pulitzer in History

William Shirer won the National Book Award for “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”

John Sanford (pen name of John Camp) won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism before he turned to fiction

Quote: “Ideas are everywhere, and you must listen out for them. Your stories will be more fun if you give them a twist. So, if you want to write about football, what about an alien football match, or a pets’ football match? It’s always easier to write the beginning and end first, and the middle last. Think of where your character is at the beginning, and what they are like, and how they are different at the end. The middle bit is what changed them. The best way to learn to be a writer is to be a reader.” – Francesca Simon

Tip: Don’t let your characters play Hamlet and give long, windy speeches. Break them up with actions.

Jumpstart: Your character walks into a diner they haven’t been in for years. And there s/he is. Their first love. Sitting at their old table. Alone. Does s/he go to him? What does s/he say?