Birthdays: A.E. Housman (1859), Robert Frost (1874), Joseph Campbell (1904), Viktor Frankl (1905), Betty McDonald (1908), Tennessee Williams (1911), Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923), Gregory Corso (1930), Richard Dawkins (1941), Erica Jong (1942), Bob Woodward (1943), T.A. Barron (1952)

Robert Frost won multiple Pulitzer’s for Poetry.

Bob Woodward is best known for his reporting of the Watergate Scandal

Quote: “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” – Robert Frost

Tip: Begin a writing jar into which you toss your loose change. When it’s full, treat yourself to a writing-related indulgence—a fancy pen, pretty journal, new book, massage, etc.

Jumpstart: Write a short piece using as many clichés, metaphors, and similes as you can

Too many authors in the birthday list that I’ve read and enjoyed to highlight just one. Robert Frost is a favorite poet mostly because he was the first one my dad shared with me. Joseph Campbell is well known to anyone who reads (or writes!) mythology. Bob Woodward (of the Woodward and Bernstein team) broke the Watergate scandal. I’ve also read Erica Jong, Tennessee Williams, and Barron. To highlight any one of these would be a dishonor to the others. Have you read any of them?

Birthdays: Gabriel Fielding (1916), Paul Scott (1920), Flannery O’Connor (1925), Gloria Steinem (1934), Toni Cade Bambara (1939), Stephen Hunter (1946), Susie Bright (1958), Linda Sue Park (1960), Kate DeCamillo (1964),

Stephen Hunter won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his film reviews.

Linda Park won the 2002 Newbery Medal for “A Single Shard”

Kate DiCamillo’s books “Because of Winn Dixie” and “The Tale of Despereaux” were made into feature films.

Quote: “The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write.” – Gabriel Fielding

Tip: Most people have endless “to do” lists. Look yours over. Can you put some fun things in there to break up the tedium?

Jumpstart: Create an alter-ego. What is his/her name? Sex? Physical attributes? Be specific and detailed. How would you use this person? As a pen name?

Birthdays: William Morris (1834), Olive Schreiner (1855), Donald Hamilton (1916), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919), Mary Stolz (1920), Michael Legat (1923), Vincent Cronin (1924), Dario Fo (1926), Tabitha King (1949), Jo Shapcott (1953), Erica Kennedy (1970)

Dario Fo won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Quote: “If you’re going to be a writer you should sit down and write in the morning, and keep it up all day, every day.” –  Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Tip: Set up a calendar for each day and mark your progress—what you sent out, to whom, when it’s due back, how much you did that day (words of writing or pages of edits). At the end of each week, reward yourself for what you accomplished. Even if only a hundred words, that’s a hundred more than you had at the beginning of the week.

Jumpstart: Create a scene or story about a lie you once told—or someone once told you. What was it? How did it affect you? What happened?

Birthdays: Roger Martin du Gard (1881), Erich Fromm (1900), Eleanor Cameron (1912), Ama Ata Aidoo (1942), Alan Bleasdale (1946), Elizabeth Scarborough (1947), Kim Robinson (1952), Julia Glass (1956), Jonathan Ames (1964), Mitch Cullin (1968)

Roger Martin du Gard won the 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Quote: “Understand that success in writing may (a) take a long time (for me, seven years to publish a short story, seven more to publish a book) and (b), once it arrives not offer you much in the way of financial reward.” – Julia Glass

Tip: When you’re ready to quit writing for the day, before you do, set a question or scene that you will have to answer the next time you write. That way, you won’t sit there staring at the page wondering what you were doing or what to do next.

Jumpstart: You’ve been asked to create a character for your favorite TV show. What show is it? What kind of character will you create? Would s/he be a villain or a hero? Or a sidekick? What happens?

Two nonfiction books and a cozy mystery for you to check out this week.

Under Mysteries:

BIRDER SHE WROTE by Donna Andrews – 5 Sparklers for this fun cozy, but note, it is #33 in a series! Still, worth a read.

Under Nonfiction:

THE CONFIDANTE by Christopher C. Gorham – 4 Sparklers for this book about Anna Rosenberg, a woman who helped shape American politics

GUT FEELINGS by Dr. Will Cole – 4 Sparklers for this book on the connection between our guts and our brains