Birthdays: Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821), Isaac Bashevis Singer (1903?), Howard Fast (1914), Kalle Paatalo (1919), Kurt Vonnegut (1922), Carlos Fuentes (1928), Miriam Tlali (1933), Diane Wolkstein (1942), Mary Gaitskill (1954), Kathy Lette (1958), Nicola Morgan (1961), 

Quote: “When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer

Tip: A hyperbole is an exaggerated phrase that’s not meant to be taken literally (I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse).

Jumpstart: I stumbled through the trees, completely lost, with no clue where the trail was. As I parted the branches of a tree, I saw staring down at me…