Birthdays: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803), Boris Artzybasheff (1899), Theodore Roethke (1908), Robert Ludlum (1927), John Gregory Dunne (1932), W.P. Kinsella (1935), David Levering Lewis (1936), Raymond Carver (1938), Joyce Carol Thomas (1938), Jamaica Kincaid (1949), Al Sarrantonio (1952), Eve Ensler (1953), Vera Nazarian (1966), Poppy Z. Brite (1967), Octavia Spencer (1972), Madeleine Thien (1974),

Edward Bulwer-Lytton became famous for his opening line “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Boris Artzybasheff won the Newbery Medal for his work on Dhan Gopal-Mukerji’s “Gay-Neck”.

Theodor Roethke won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book “The Waking”

W.P. Kinsella was best known for his book “Shoeless Joe” which became the movie “Field of Dreams”

David Lewis was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History

Quote: “Because one has written other books does not mean the next becomes any easier.” – John Gregory Dunne

Tip: Mad at someone? Use that emotion—or any strong emotion—in your story. Give the emotions to your characters. Your story is where you can legally kill someone off—but remember to change the names!

Jumpstart: Write a short “how to” piece on something you know. Do you know how to pick out good wine? Build a birdhouse? Bake bread? Give the reader details on how to do this.