“All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them. We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. If we don’t, our lives get made up for us by other people.” —Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wave in the Mind, 2004. Ursula Le Guin… Read More October 21st – Ursula Le Guin
“…we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.” John le Carré Best-selling spy novelist John le Carré was born David John Moore Cornwell, on October 19th, 1931, in Poole, Dorset, England. His father was in and out of jail for fraud, and his mother left the family when he… Read More October 19th – John le Carré
“Dig in and get it done” Evan Hunter, aka Ed McBain Born Salvatore Albert Lombino on October 15th, 1926, he became better known as Ed McBain, a pseudonym he used in his crime fiction from 1956 on. Among others, he also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, and Richard… Read More October 15th – Ed McBain
“The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.” Nora Roberts Author Nora Roberts was born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10th, 1950, in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was the youngest of five children. She married young, and was constantly searching… Read More October 10th – Nora Roberts
“have fun with it.” R.L. Stine on writing Robert Lawrence Stine was born October 8th, 1943, in Columbus, Ohio. He began writing stories and jokes at the age of 9. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965 with a B.A. in English. After college, he went to work for a soft drink magazine, then… Read More October 8th – R.L. Stine
“If you want to be a writer-stop talking about it and sit down and write!” Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins was born October 4th, 1937, in Hampstead, London. She was the middle child of three. At 15, she was expelled from Francis Holland School and reportedly had a brief affair with the 29-year-old actor Marlon… Read More October 4th – Jackie Collins
“There are thirty-two ways to write a story, and I’ve used every one, but there is only one plot – things are not as they seem.” Jim Thompson Jim Thompson was born September 27, 1906 in Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory (a year before Oklahoma officially became a state). Thompson’s early life was the thing of novels.… Read More September 27th – Jim Thompson
“Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.” The Notebooks of F Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Always known simply as “Scott,” he was named after his second cousin thrice removed, Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics for the Star-Spangled Banner.… Read More September 24th – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” Stephen King Stephen King was born on September 21st, 1947 in Portland, Maine. His father left the family when he… Read More September 21st – Stephen King
“All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescabably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda.” Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr was born September 20, 1878 in Baltimore Maryland. His father was a liquor salesman, and an alcoholic. His father’s family was also from the South, and had lost their money after the Civil… Read More September 20th – Upton Sinclair
