August 5
Birthdays: Guy de Maupassant (1850), Ruth Sawyer (1880), Conrad Aiken (1889), Peter Viereck (1916), Wendell Berry (1934), David Baldacci(1960)
Ruth Sawyer won the 1937 Newbery Medal for “Roller Skates”
Conrad Aiken won the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Peter Viereck won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Quote:
“We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it.” ― Wendell Berry, The Long-Legged House
“Especially among Christians in positions of wealth and power, the idea of reading the Gospels and keeping Jesus’ commandments as stated therein has been replaced by a curious process of logic. According to this process, people first declare themselves to be followers of Christ, and then they assume that whatever they say or do merits the adjective “Christian”.” ― Wendell Berry, Blessed are the Peacemakers: Christ’s Teachings of Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness
“It is precisely the sort of thing I am always trying to do in my writing – to present my unhappy reader with a wide-ranged chaos – of actions and reactions, thoughts, memories and feelings – in the vain hope that at the end he will see that the whole thing represents only one moment, one feeling, one person. A raging, trumpeting jungle of associations, and then I announce at the end of it, with a gesture of despair, ‘This is I!” ― Conrad Aiken, Blue Voyage
Tip: Never be so hard on yourself that you give up. Keep at it. It’s not easy, but it can be done.
Jumpstart: Write about your first day of something: school, college, work, etc. Be specific about your feelings, experience, setting, etc.
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August 6
Birthdays: Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809), Charles Fort (1874), Norma Farber (1909), Constance Heaven (1911), Richard Hofstadter (1916), Barbara Cooney (1917), John Graves (1920), Elizabeth Beresford (1926), Piers Anthony (1934), Diane di Prima (1934), Conor McPherson (1971), Paolo Bacigalupi (1972)
Richard Hofstadter was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.
Barbara Cooney was a two-time winner of the Caldecott Medal
Paolo Bacigalupi won the Hugo and Nebula awards for his book “The Wind-up Girl”
Quote: The more I write stories for young people, and the more young readers I meet, the more I’m struck by how much kids long to see themselves in stories. To see their identities and perspectives—their avatars—on the page. Not as issues to be addressed or as icons for social commentary, but simply as people who get to do cool things in amazing worlds. -Paolo Bacigalupi
“I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. …It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand. ‘…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.’ So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to, or draw down to, children. (from the author’s acceptance speech for the Caldecott award)” ― Barbara Cooney, Chanticleer and the Fox
“A good notion for a novel is far too precious to waste; it must be caught the moment it flashes into mental view, or it will escape to the brain of some other writer who really doesn’t deserve it.”― Piers Anthony, On A Pale Horse
Tip: Don’t forget to give back to the universe. Help other authors where you can. Actually, help anybody. Little kindnesses can come back to you in many ways.
Jumpstart: Your character is in a non-motorized boat in the middle of a large lake when a sudden storm blows up… what now?
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August 7
Birthdays: Louis Leakey (1903), James Randi (1928), Betsy Byars (1928), Jerry Poumelle (1933), Garrison Keillor (1942), Anne Fadiman (1953), Vladimir Sorokin (1955)
Betsy Byars won the 1971 Newbery Medal for “Summer of the Swans”. She also won a National Book Award for Children’s Fiction and an Edgar Award.
Jerry Poumelle is best known for “The Mote in God’s Eye” and “Lucifer’s Hammer” (in collaboration with Larry Niven).
Quote: “Those who believe without reason cannot be convinced by reason.”― James Randi
“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.” ― Garrison Keillor
“When I type a title page, I hold it and I look at it and I think, I just need four thousand sentences to go with this and I’ll have a book.” – Betsy Byars
Tip: Professional jealousy exists. Try not to let it control you. If a friend gets better contracts, etc. than you, be happy for them. Celebrate their success.
Jumpstart: An asteroid is going to hit Earth and there are only enough ships and room on the moon for a small portion of the population. You’re the person who has to choose. How do you do it and who do you save?
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August 8
Birthdays: Sara Teasdale (1884), Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896), Maia Wojciechowska (1927), Valerie Sayers (1952), Jostein Gaarder (1952), Ian Pears (1955), Anastasia M. Ashman (1964)
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book “The Yearling”
Sara Teasdale won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her book “Love Songs”
Maia Wojciechowska won the 1956 Newbery Medal for “Shadow of a Bull”
Quotes: What a strange world. If you believed in Christianity or Islam, it was called ‘faith’. But if you believed in astrology or Friday the thirteenth it was superstition! Who had the right to call other people’s belief superstition?” – Jostein Gaarder
“We cannot live without the Earth or apart from it, and something is shrivelled in a man’s heart when he turns away from it and concerns himself only with the affairs of men”
― Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek
Tip: Reward yourself even for small victories. Finish your first novel? Celebrate. Submit? Yay! Contract? That calls for a real celebration. Be sure to enjoy the small steps along the way as well as the big ones. Even if it’s something as small as “I wrote today”.
Jumpstart: Your character wakes without the ability to communicate with those around her. What does she do?
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August 9
Birthdays: Izaak Walton (1593), John Dryden (1631), Jean Piaget (1896), Pamela Travers (1899), Tove Jansson (1914), Philip Larkin (1922), Daniel Keyes (1927), Robert Shaw (1927), Seymour Simon (1931), Graeme Gibson (1934), Shirlee Busbee (1941), Pat McKissack (1944), Barbara Delinsky (1945), John Varley (1947), Jonathan Kellerman (1949), Gene Yang (1973)
Pamela (P.L.) Travers is best known for her book “Mary Poppins”
Daniel Keyes is best known for his Hugo and Nebula-winning work “Flowers for Algernon”
Quote: “The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.” ― Jean Piaget
“All good fiction involves an element of mystery – ideally, the reader should be compelled to turn the page in order to find out what happens next. Crime novels use extreme events – matters of life and death – to catalyze the story. That kind of intensity appeals to me.” – Jonathan Kellerman
Tip: Put the book you’ve just finished writing away for at least a week. Watch movies, read other books, take long walks, relax. Or, better yet, start your next book. Do anything other than look at your manuscript. That way, you can come back to it with a fresh eye.
Jumpstart: P.L. Travers was born on August 9, 1899. Never heard of her? I’d be willing to bet you’ve heard of Mary Poppins. Travers wrote several books about everybody’s favorite nanny. Imagine you’re a friend of Mary Poppins. Who would you be and what would your quirk be? No fair picking something from the book or movie. How do you know Mary?
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August 10
Birthdays: Curt Siodmak (1902), Ward Moore (1903), Jorge Amado (1912), Nancy Buckingham (1924), Barry Unsworth (1930), Mark Doty (1953), Susan Lewis (1956), Suzanne Collins (1962)
Mark Doty won the 2008 National Book Award for Poetry for “Fire to Fire”
Suzanne Collins is best known for her trilogy “Hunger Games”
Quote: “But I mind fanatics, the ones who try to impose their beliefs on you.” ― Susan Lewis, A Class Apart
“Get to know your characters. Don’t be afraid to listen to them. In fact, if they aren’t talking to you, you’ve got a problem.” Susan Lewis
“Have fun with an opening line. You don’t have to use it in the final draft, but it’s a good way to start.” – Susan Lewis
Tip: Plot can take two basic forms, or even a combination of the two. It will usually be either a three-act structure (beginning, middle, end), or, from Joseph Campbell’s writings, be a mythic journey. It can also be a combination of the mythic journey within the three-act structure.
Jumpstart: You’re going to visit a favorite relative you haven’t seen in years. You’ve kept in touch by phone and letter, but not visually. When you see him/her, you’re shocked by their appearance. Why?
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August 11
Birthdays: Alex Haley (1921), Andre Dubus (1936), Joanna Cole (1944), Don Freeman (1908)
Tip: We do research to get our facts straight, but don’t get lost in the research. You can while away an entire afternoon looking things up. Find your one item, note it and move on. Or mark the passage for a later time.
Quote: “The trick is not in becoming a writer, it is in staying a writer. Day after week after month after year.” – Harlan Ellison
Jumpstart: What are your top five…anything (desserts, music, movies, etc.). Why are they your top five? What is it about them that you like so much?
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