Birthdays: Joseph Conrad (1857), Kate O’Brien (1897), Morgan Llywelyn (1916), David K. Shipler (1942), Grace Andreacchi (1954), Mark Salzman (1959), Stephen Elliott (1971), Zlata Filipovic (1980)

David K. Shipler won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction for “Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Poisoned Land”

Quote: “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” – Joseph Conrad

“If you do all that work of figuring out exactly how writing is done, then it’s available to you at anytime, and you can build on it. It’s like the difference between shooting one hoop and having it go in by accident and saying later, ‘I shot a basket,’ – and practicing so much you can do it whenever you want.” – Mark Salzman

Tip: When writing a cover letter or proposal, don’t be cutesy or use fancy fonts. This is a business. Treat it as such.

Jumpstart: The book lay on the table, coated in dust, unopened for centuries. She drew near and it quivered, much like her stomach. “I am for you,” whispered in her mind…