Birthdays: Ovid (43 B.C.), Henrik Ibsen (1828), Isabel Burton (1831), B.F. Skinner (1904), Bill Martin Jr (1916), Mitsumasa Anno (1926), Lois Lowry (1937), Ellen Conford (1942), Louis Sachar (1954), Nina Kiriki Hoffman (1955), Mary Roach (1959), A.J. Jacobs (1968), Emily Giffin (1972),

Lois Lowry won two Newbery Awards: “Number the Stars” and “The Giver”

Quote: “My personal opinion is that you should not worry about ‘being published’. You should enjoy writing, and writing more and more, so that you become better at it. I always sort of cringe when I hear, ‘I want to be a published writer’ from a kid. I’d rather hear, ‘I love to write’.” – Lois Lowry

Tip: Go through your work and look for weak verbs and change them to stronger, more descriptive ones. Instead of “he walked”, try: strode, crept, tiptoed, stomped, etc. to describe how he is walking.

Jumpstart: Your house is on fire. You live alone and have no pets so there is nobody else to worry about. What do you try to save?