Today is Eat What You Want Day, Twilight Zone Day, and the birthday of: Irving Berlin, Mari Sandoz, Stanley Elkin, Rose Auslander, Camilo Jose Cela, Francisco Umbral

Tip: Before stopping for the day, ask yourself a question about tomorrow’s scenes. (What is the character feeling at this point? How are they going to get out of this mess?) Write it down and sleep on it. You might be surprised what your brain comes up with overnight.

Thought: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth the writing.” –  Benjamin Franklin

Teaser: You’ve gone to see a psychic who will answer your deepest question. What do you ask?

Today is Administrative Professionals Day,  Hug an Australian Day, National Pretzel Day, Richter Scale Day and the birthday of Bernard Malamud, Charles Browne (Artemis Ward), Anita Loos, Vincente Aleixandre, Morris West

Tip: Create a writing schedule for the next month. Start with fifteen minutes and increase it by fifteen minutes each week until you have an hour a day.

Thought: “Fiction writing is a 24-hour a day occupation. It lives inside you. It resides and grows and comes alive in your mind.” – Terry Brooks

Teaser: Write a short piece using as many clichés, metaphors and similes as you can.

Recipe for Gluten Free Pretzels from King Arthur Flour

Pretzels
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons soft butter
Water bath
4 quarts water
1/4 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Topping
coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, optional
Directions
Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Add the water, egg, and butter and stir until a firm dough forms, about 4 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If the dough seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
Knead the dough until smooth, then transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 45 to 90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate it, and divide it into 12 equal pieces.
Cover the pieces and, one at a time, roll them into 12″ to 14″ ropes. Shape the ropes into pretzels and place them on the prepared pans.
Add the baking soda and sugar to the boiling water and wait for the foam to subside.
Drop the pretzels one at a time into the water, and boil them for about 5 seconds; they should initially sink, then float to the surface in that time.
Return the pretzels to the pans and sprinkle them with the coarse salt of your choice, if desired.
Bake the pretzels until golden brown and finished to your liking, about 18 to 20 minutes for soft pretzels, 25 minutes for chewier pretzels, and 35 minutes for hard pretzels.
Allow the pretzels to cool on the pans for 10 minutes before serving.
Yield: 12 pretzels.

Today is Pig in a Blanket Day and the birthday of Robert Penn Warren, Elizabeth Goudge, Carl Spitteler, William Sargant, Doris Burn, Sue Grafton, Christian Bobin, Anthony Trollope

Tip: Check the dialogue you write. Do you start a lot of it with “So…”? Most writers aren’t aware of doing this but I’ve seen it crop up in a lot of manuscripts of late. So… check for the word “so” at the beginning of your dialogues.

Thought: “You need not be famous to write something worth remembering, worth preserving, worth publishing.” – Charles Champlin

Teaser: Create a story about a lie you once told – or someone once told you. Why did you/they lie? What was it about? What were the consequences. Were you found out?

Today is Lover’s Day, National Zucchini Bread Day, Take a Chance Day, World Laboratory Day, and the birthday of Edwin Markham, JP Donleavy, Victoria Glendinning, Halldor Laxness, William Shakespeare

Tip: Most readers identify with the first character they encounter. Make sure this is your main character.

Thought: “Rejections slips are living proof that I sent my work forth, that I am being read, that I am casting my lot. They help define me to my writing self.” – Shelly Lowenkopf

Teaser: After a long and eventful life, your character is dying. What does s/he leave behind? What advice does s/he have for others? Why? What does s/he most regret? What is s/he most proud of?

Recipe for Zucchini Bread:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Today is Kindergarten Day and the birthday of Charlotte Bronte, Barbara Park, Alistair MacLean, Elizabeth II, Queen of England

Tip: In the best stories, the main character has to not only overcome the external problem, but internal problems as well. She should change as a person, grow and become better. Make a character chart with internal and external conflicts.

Thought: “Writing is not about degrees or vocabulary or diagramming a sentence. It is simply about the desire to tell a story.” – Fannie Flagg

Teaser: Write a scene where your character is temporarily blinded. What happened? What does she do? What does s/he notice without sight?