February 10

Birthdays: Charles Lamb (1775), William Allen White (1868), Boris Pasternak (1890), Bertolt Brecht (1898), Joseph Kessel (1898), Adrienne Adams (1906), Alex Comfort (1920), E.L. Konigsburg (1930), Stephen Gammell (1943), Mary McGarry Morris (1943), Francis Moore Lappe (1944), Vernor Vinge (1944), Mark Teague (1963), Lucy Cousins (1964), Glenn Beck (1964).

E.L. Konigsburg is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal.

Stephen Gammell is the winner of the 1989 Caldecott Medal for his work on “Song and Dance Man”

Vernor Vinge is a multiple Hugo Award winner for his science fiction

Quote: “No bad man can be a good poet.” – Boris Pasternak, known for his book “Doctor Zhivago”

Tip: What is your book about? Boil the answer down to no more than two sentences. This becomes the basis for your pitch to editors and agents.

Jumpstart: You’ve been chosen…. (finish this using splinter, guitar, in a lab)

February 11

Birthdays: Sidney Sheldon (1917), Gordon Lish (1934), Jane Yolen (1939), Joy Williams (1944), Pico Iyer (1957), Mo Willems (1968),

Quote: “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen

Tip: Go to a library and browse the stacks. Check out areas you don’t normally go. What can you find that’s new and different for you?

Jumpstart: Make a list of images you find disgusting or ugly. Choose one and write a description that redeems that object.