Birthdays: Marcel Proust (1871), Edmund Bentley (1875), Mary O’Hara (1885), John Wyndham (1903), Mildred Wirt Benson (1905), Martin Provensen (1916), Jean Kerr (1922), Alice Munro (1931), Julian May (1931), Dianne Ochiltree (1953), Candice F Ransom (1952), Seth Godin (1960), Karen Russell (1981),

Mildred Benson wrote under the pen name Carolyn Keene of “Nancy Drew” fame.

Martin Provensen won the 1984 Caldecott Medal for “The Glorious Fight”

Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Quote: “Someone will always ask ‘How long does it take you to write a novel?’ I hardly ever give them the real answer. ‘It depends,’ I will say. ‘A year. Sometimes three or four.’ The real answer, of course, is that it takes your entire life.” – James D. Houston

Tip: What is your brand? A brand is something that defines what you write. Stephen King’s brand is horror. Zane Grey’s was westerns. Nora Roberts is romance. When people see your name, what type of writing will they identify with you?

Jumpstart: Take two characters from different books and introduce them. What would happen if Tom Sawyer met the three musketeers? Or how would Nancy Drew deal with Sherlock Holmes? Would they solve the case together? Or fight each other?

Birthdays: Ann Radcliffe (1764), Matthew Lewis (1775), Samuel Morison (1887), Barbara Cartland (1901), Arthur Walworth (1903), Mervyn Peake (1911), Oliver Sacks (1933), June Jordan (1936), Nancy Farmer (1941), Glen Cook (1944), Dean Koontz (1945), Thomas Ligotti (1953), Jamie Ford (1968),

Ann Radcliffe was considered the pioneer of the Gothic novel.

Samuel Morison (a Navy Rear Admiral) won two Pulitzer Prizes for his biographies of Christopher Columbus and John Paul Jones.

Barbara Cartland held the 1977 Guinness Book record for the most novels written in a year (23). Overall, she had published 723 novels.

Arthur Walworth won a Pulitzer Prize in Biography for “Woodrow Wilson” in 1959.

Quote: “The main advice I’ve given every beginning writer I’ve ever talked to is, ‘Do it’. You’ve got to stop talking about it and sit down and do it. Put your ass in front of a computer and do it.” – Glen Cook

Tip: Set up a system to track submissions, deadlines, marketing events, and more. Make the system easy enough to use but detailed enough so you know what’s happening when.

Jumpstart: Finish this: And so, I trudged off to work, my stomach roiling from…

Birthdays: Jean de La Fontaine (1621), R. Carlyle Buley (1893), J.F. Powers (1917), Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1926), Shirley Ann Grau (1929), James Cross Giblin (1933), Raffi (1948), Anna Quindlen (1952), Alison McGhee (1960), Erin Morgenstern (1978), Alex van Tonder (1983),

R. Carlyle Buley won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize in History for “The Old Northwest: Pioneer Period 1815-1840”

Shirley Ann Grau won the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “The Keepers of the House”

Quote: “Write the book you want to read and the one your friends want to read. Because then even if it’s not published, it’s still rewarding for you.” – Alex van Tonder

Tip: When writing a back cover blurb, don’t go over about 200 words. Introduce main characters, their problem, and hint at danger or a question to entice reader.

Jumpstart: Write a scene completely in dialogue. Can you get across everything that needs to be shown without devolving into lecture?

Birthdays: Herbert Fris (1893), Simone Beck (1904), Robert Heinlein (1907), Margaret Walker (1915), David Eddings (1931), T.J. Bass (1932), David McCullough (1933), Nancy Farmer (1941), Harriet Ziefert (1941), Nikki Giovanni (1943), Kathy Reichs (1948), Jill McCorkle (1958), Eric Jerome Dickey (1961), Zoe Heller (1965), Jeff VanderMeer (1968), Renee Ahdieh (1983), V.E. Schwab (1987),

Herbert Feis won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for History for “Between War and Peace: the Potsdam Conference”

Robert Heinlein was one of the most influential science fiction authors of his time.

Margaret Walker is best known for her book “Jubilee”

David Eddings is best known for his fantasy series “The Belgariad” and “The Mallorean”

David McCullough won the Pulitzer for his biographies of “Truman” and “John Adams”

Kathy Reichs is best known for her Temperance Brennan mysteries that were adapted into the TV show “Bones”

Quote: “My favourite part of writing any story is falling in love with my characters. It’s that moment when I really feel as though I understand their histories and can’t wait to put their perspectives on the page.” – Renee Ahdieh

Tip: Hooks keep a reader reading, keeps them turning the pages. They answer the questions: who, what, why, when, where, how. They should pull your reader in and keep them interested. They’re especially a good way to end a chapter.

Jumpstart: Your character is a straightlaced good girl, but now she has to do something out of character – strip, or commit a crime, or hurt someone. What does she have to do and why? How does she react?

Birthdays: Verner von Heidenstam (1859), Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890), Will James (1892), Gloria Skurzynksi (1930), 14^th Dalai Lama (1935), Norman Sherry (1935), Bessie Head (1937), Bernhard Schlink (1944), Hilary Mantel (1952), Cheryl Harness (1952), Hilary Mantel (1952), William Wall (1955)

Verner von Heidenstam won the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature

Dhan Gopal Mukerji won the 1928 Newbery Medal for “Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon”

Will James won the 1927 Newbery Medal for “Smoky the Cowhorse”

Quote: “If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don’t just stick there scowling at the problem. But don’t make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people’s words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.” – Hilary Mantel

Tip: Symbols or props can be important in a story. Where would we be without the light sabers in Star Wars or the Sherlock Holmes’ pipe and hat? Do you have any symbolic props in your stories? Can you add them? Just be sure to use them in a way that adds to the story and is not just a “prop” there for no reason.

Jumpstart: Use the following in a mystery scene: school bell, blush, barbed wire

Blurb:

Accepting second best is good for her career, but first-grade teacher, Retta Curt, delays signing up for the disappointment. Given two weeks to consider her contract, she retreats to Gram’s cottage on Moon Lake, the last place she felt contentment. But the cottage is derelict; Cousin Julie, distant; childhood beaux, Dean, bitter; and Sweet Picks, the family ice cream stand, in danger of folding. A surly newcomer is buying and then running down properties until nothing remains of the idyllic lakeside community she remembers. When vandals target Sweet Picks, Retta’s dreams to recapture her happy childhood collapse, and the return to Moon Lake becomes a decision worse than accepting her teaching contract. Disheartened. Star-crossed. Can Retta save the family business and rediscover happiness, or is she destined for a second-best future?

Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Author Bio:

Terry Korth Fischer writes short stories, memoirs, and mysteries. Transplanted from the Midwest, Terry lives in Houston, Texas, with two guard cats. When not writing, she loves reading, frolicking with the kittens, and basking in the sunshine. Yet, her heart often wanders to the country’s heartland, where she spent a memorable—ordinary but charmed—childhood. Learn more about Terry at her author website: https://terrykorthfischer.com

Author Links:

Website: https://terrykorthfischer.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/terryiswriting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerryIsWriting

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/terrykorthfischer

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14349440.Terry_Korth_Fischer

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/terry-korth-fischer

Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/TerryKorthFischer

Birthdays: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804), Rube Goldberg (1883), Lionel Trilling (1905), Ann Landers (1918), Abigail Van Buren (1918), Neil Simon (1927), Richard Rhodes (1937), Thomas Nagel (1937), Tomaž Šalamun (1941), Jaimy Gordon (1944), Deon Meyer (1956),

Neil Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for “Lost in Yonkers”

Richard Rhodes won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for “The Making of the Atomic Bomb”

Quotes: “The more you do it, the better you become. There is nothing that improves your writing more than just sitting down and doing it.” – Deon Meyer

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne, Fanshawe

“If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” ― Ann Landers

Tip: It is Independence Day in the US. What do you need to do to mark your independence in writing? Carve out space and time for yourself and declare your independence.

Jumpstart: If you could go back in time and change one thing in your life, would you? What would it be? Why would you change that?

Birthdays: Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860), Ralph Barton Perry (1876), Franz Kafka (1883), M.F.K. Fisher (1908), Tom Stoppard (1937), Dave Barry (1947), Rohinton Mistry (1952), Franny Billingsley (1954), Charles Higson (1958), Julie Burchill (1959), Joanne Harris (1964), Matt Haig (1975)

Ralph Perry won the 1936 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for “William James”

Dave Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for his humorous works.

Quote: “Getting published requires a great deal of time, energy and commitment. You are likely to be rejected many times. You will need to develop a very thick skin. If you are very sensitive, or if you think rejection will upset you too much, then perhaps you should just stick to writing for pleasure – after all, not everyone who plays tennis wants to be a pro. A very few writers make lots of money. Some writers make enough money to live on (I am one of the lucky ones). Most writers don’t make enough money to live on. Some don’t make any money at all.” – Joanne Harris

Tip: Be careful about overusing tropes (a common theme that shows up in a lot of books). They can be used to your advantage, especially in some genres, but use them carefully.

Jumpstart: In 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania became the center of the conflict between the North and South. Put your character there. What side is s/he on? Is s/he a fighter or a civilian? What happens?

Birthdays: Hermann Hesse (1877), Jean Craighead George (1919), Cyril M. Kornbluth (1923), Wislawa Szymborska (1923), Mark Billingham (1961), Jack Gantos (1951), Elizabeth Graver (1964), Darren Shan (1972), Matthew Reilly (1974), Tao Lin (1983)

Hermann Hesse won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his writings. Best known for his books “Steppenwolf” and “Siddhartha”

Jean George is best known for her work “My Side of the Mountain”

Wislawa Szymborska won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry.

Jack Gantos is best known for creating the character of “Rotten Ralph”

Quote: “Unless someone has broken all your fingers there’s nothing stopping you writing. It won’t always be any good of course, but writers have good days and bad days, same as anyone else.” – Mark Billingham

Tip: Three act structure is the most common storytelling device. In Act I, the main character’s life is thrown out of whack. In Act II, he tries to solve the problem, but can’t. Act III, he uses knowledge gained in II and formulates a new plan.

Jumpstart: You have just learned that you are the heir to a kingdom – a very small one with rich resources but surrounded by larger, not so nice ones. Do you take the throne? Why or why not?