Birthdays: Blaise Pascal (1623), Elbert Hubbard (1856), Laura Z. Hobson (1900), Pauline Kael (1919), Tobias Wolff (1945), Salman Rushdie (1947), John Ralston Saul (1947)

Quote: “The last thing we decide about a book is what to put first.” – Blaise Pascal

Tip: You should be able to answer any question about your main character, and by the end of the book, you reader should know them almost as well as you do.

Jumpstart: You’ve been locked in a store overnight and can’t get out. What do you do? Does the kind of store make any difference (department, grocery, book)? Why? What about security?