Birthdays: Hannah Webster Foster (1758), Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880), Carl Van Doren (1885), Franz Werfel (1890), Cyril Connolly (1903), Charles Kuralt (1934), Mary Oliver (1935), Jared Diamond (1937), Stephen J. Gould (1941), Neale Donald Walsch (1943), Bill O’Reilly (1949), Andrei Makine (1957), Marian Keyes (1963)

Carl Van Doren won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Charles Kuralt was a traveling journalist famous for his “On the Road” series on TV and in books.

Mary Oliver was an American poet who won both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize.

Quote: “It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn’t in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals.”― Charles Kuralt

“If you want the best the world has to offer, offer the world your best.”― Neale Donald Walsch

“The story begins when things change. The adventure begins when things go wrong.” – Dennis McKiernan

Tip: On the first page, you should have the answers to three questions: Whose story is this? (main character) What’s happening? What’s at stake?

Jumpstart: You work at a pet shop and arrive in the morning to find cages opened and animals everywhere—including the snakes—what happens next?