Birthdays: Adam Smith (1723), Murray Leinster (1896), Katharine Graham (1917), Isabelle Holland (1920), John Howard Griffin (1920), Erich Segal (1937), Joyce Carol Oates (1938), Deb Caletti (1963), Andy Weir (1972), Evie Wyld (1980)

Katharine Graham oversaw The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal and her memoir “Personal History” won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1988.

Quote: “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. Don’t wait for an inspired ending to come to mind. Work your way to the ending and see what comes up.” – Andy Weir

Tip: Keep a contact list of people who like your work for newsletters. But don’t overwhelm them with something every day—or even every week. Some don’t like that much intrusion.

Jumpstart: A group of geese is called a gaggle. A group of fish is a school, but what about a group of snakes? Or ravens? Go in search of as many “groups” as you can find and use one or more in a scene.