Birthdays: Russell Baker (1925), William Kittredge (1932), Alice Provensen (1918)

Tip: Read your dialogue out loud. Does it sound like real people are talking? Or is it stilted and long winded? You should strive to keep dialogue real, but don’t copy real speech. If you listen to real people talking, you’ll find that most conversations are full of inanities.

Thought for the day: “Get out of your own way. Do not let the hows and whys stop you from writing. “ – Susan Macias

Jumpstart: You’re on your way to a job interview. You stop at a convenience store for some coffee and a rude person cuts in front of you. Then turns and spills his drink on your new suit. And blames you. You tell him off….and get to the interview a few minutes late only to see him on the other side of the desk. What do you do?