Birthdays: Edith Hamilton (1867), William Goldman (1931), Walter Dean Myers (1937), Gail Parent (1940), Ruth Stiles Gannett (1923)

Tip: Get yourself a good dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar book—or know where to look for them online. The Chicago Manual of Style is considered the best for most writing. Also Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus. And use them!

Thought for the day: “Compete only with yourself.” – Mary Ellen Donahue

Jumpstart: Pretend you’re a doll living in a doll house. What is it like? What do you see from your vantage point? Who plays with you? In what way?

Note: I just finished reading a book that I am going to write a review up for later. The premise of the book was good. It’s a YA fantasy and imaginative. However…the editing was horrendous. It looked like the author used “spellcheck” a lot because there were so many wrong word usages, missing words, typos, and more. And it wasn’t an ARC – it was a finished, published book. Please–do not rely on spellcheck for your editing. If you took the time to write a book, take the time to get a good editor and proofreader and have them go over it. And then go over it yourself one more time.