FRIDAY STIR FRY - Celebrity Deaths

https://www.morguefile.com

When a famous person dies, some people really freak out. Like last week when Prince passed, the sister of a co-worker totally lost it, couldn't work, couldn't sleep, couldn't stop crying. The memorial at his home keeps growing, and the tributes keep coming. I wasn't a big fan. His music came around in my life when I was in the middle of raising kids. New music somehow becomes less important. The old stuff is what we cling to. The music of our own youth. But, I get the grief. I really do.  

John Denver's death hit me hard. He, like Prince, died way too young and suddenly. I probably played his music for weeks after. I would get teary eyed and my voice would crack when I sang along. I actually met him once and have his autograph. So, silly as it sounds, I felt I really knew him.

Music has a way of connecting our memory with our heart. It embeds its words and melody in our very being. Plus, when the musician who brought it to us is kind and gives of their time and money to good causes, we tend to connect with them even more. From all accounts, Prince was very charitable. John Denver fought for the environment, bringing awareness to what we were doing to the planet.  

While we mourn, let's try and carry on the work they did to help others. There is no better way to remember them. 

Which celebrity death hit you the hardest? I would love to know. 

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Missing For The Next 30 Days

Yep, it's almost here. November or as I like to call it Insaneber. Because anyone who thinks they can write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days has to be insane right?

Believe it or not it is possible but it takes a lot of energy, courage and caffeine. Here are a few tricks and treats I've learned over the last 6 years I've participated. (notice how I referenced Halloween there?) Happy Halloween/Samhain! Now to my tips.

• Absolutely no editing. This is the first rule of NaNo. Lock that editor in the basement. You have no time for his nonsense this month. 
• Do not use contractions. Don't is one word - do not is two. You can fix it later with find and replace. 
• Everyone has at least two, three or more names. And they repeat their names a lot. Not only does this up your word count but it helps your brain remember all your characters. Again, you can fix later. 
• Have a music play list. This not only sets the mood for your story, but, at least in my case, the words flow easier if there is music in the background. 
• Lots of caffeine and chocolate. Self explanatory. 
• Set a timer for 10, 15 or 30 minutes. Write non-stop until that sucker goes off. You'll be surprised how many words you will get.
• Finally - and this is very important. BACK UP YOUR NOVEL AT LEAST EVERY DAY. I can't tell you how many horror stories I've heard of people losing all their hard work. Don't be that person.

 
I hope you join in, but if not please understand if you don't see or hear from me, I'm probably okay, just busy trying to wrestle a novel out of my brain. You can track my progress by coming by and checking the word count widget to the right.