I went to court and changed my name. It is official, today my name is Terra AnnLynn Spencer. I still plan to write under Terra Ann Spencer but this is news I am very happy about and excited about. I wanted to share it with the world!
Terra
28 Tuesday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on for those who might care
I went to court and changed my name. It is official, today my name is Terra AnnLynn Spencer. I still plan to write under Terra Ann Spencer but this is news I am very happy about and excited about. I wanted to share it with the world!
Terra
24 Friday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on My novel … just a piece…the start
the beginning. For your enjoyment and for your comments. Thanks.
CHAPTER 1
‘I have heard many stories of how our earth vampires
lived but it is not their story that intrigues me.
It is the race of vampires, who made
earth vampires that devour my soul.
It is this alien, vampire race
I am afraid that beckons me back again and again.’
Anonymous quote
Earth journal-date unknown
A transport ship’s engine burst and roared as it neared the docking bay. The transport was a large piece of old metal and high tech plastics forced together by Earth’s early space program. The large vessel eased into the tight space kicking off the cooling system. Several large metal nozzles began to spin and spray out blue-green liquid.
A dense mist formed as the cool liquid made contact with the hot outer parts of the transport ship. Puddles began to form on the dead ground beneath the ship and slid off the tube linking the ship to the bay doors. Passengers unaware of the toxic liquid mere inches from their faces began to mingle their way out to the space station and tried to avoid the dirty workers loaded down with imported goods.
Sarah tossed her braided hair back over her shoulder as she watched the mist grow thicker beyond the triple reinforced Plexiglass inside the space station. The green hue swirled in the mist and made the mist look like cotton candy clouds. Sarah’s mouth watered for a taste. Her stomach growled and gave her a few painful spasms as she had forgotten to eat since yesterday. Quickly she dug out a snack travel cake from one of her dozen pockets on her orange cargo pants and shoved the cake into her mouth. The dry crumbs left a pasty aftertaste against her tongue but it made her hunger pains subside.
Sarah stood there in her tan flight coat with her duffle bag, a patchwork of leather pieces sewn together, over her right shoulder and she wore a tight brown shirt which clung to her breasts. Her red hair was done in a light version of a two braided style and ended in two fluffy tassels. This morning she had grabbed her loop belt which was a 1/4 inch design and wrapped around her waist 15 times before the end latched to the other. Her fashion style ended with her boots which were made out of a light weight fabric and used brown leather strings to lace up the front.
A rattle to the space station and a noisy chatter of passengers told Sarah the transport ship was leaving the station. Inside the dying mist, a blue glow began to take shape. The glow belonged to the transport’s engine and in seconds the transport ship was a dot in the black sky. As the last trance of mist disappeared, a red line formed around the dot and sparks flew away from it as the transport ship hit light speed.
23 Thursday May 2013
Posted Happy writing times, Random updates
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Went to the store and got more dividers. After I printed up my novel, I took the dividers to separate the chapters. Total chapter count is 19. Word count I believe is around 53,000 words and counting. I realized the last part of the book is barely done. Most chapters are 1-2 pages and are first to second drafts. This is where I plan to start my reversions. I know this area needs the most work and will get me the larger word count I want to see happen. Also I plan to read my novel and pen in some ideas of where descriptions of my main characters can go in so it’s more blocked out. I trend to write with little description of my main characters except where the story lends it. I found from a few family members reading it and a good chat with friends that this isn’t the best way for readers to gain information. It feels better as a writer to not block it out but for the reader I plan to block out some descriptions as to make them feel better when reading it.
There is one scene I added in the last section which I am debating about changing in the draft process. I added a more dark turn to the vampires and haven’t felt good about it. Though my vampires have a dark side, I’m not sure they would do what I put in the book. It felt unneccessary after writing it and I haven’t figured out how to fix it yet. I want something there but maybe not what it ended up.
On that, back to writing and drafts. Here’s to hoping I can keep my need to write long enough to finish this darn thing. 🙂 Or at least finish my short story to use as a start in the format it to amazon’s kindle moment. 🙂
Terra
23 Thursday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on My mini update. In town today,
I plan to buy some ink for the printer at home. I want to print up my novel so I can see it in print format. Old fashion but it helps me get a better idea of it and I want to start looking at where to separate chapters.
I plan since its raining out to work on it at least a few hours and work on my short story as well. It should be a day of writing, printing and editing. The only kind of day a writer loves to have when there is nothing else to do to use as an excuse not to write. 🙂
Terra
22 Wednesday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on Did a crazy thing today!
Myself
I thought about working on my novel.
Inner Self
What? Wait? Wasn’t that in lockdown for a while and the short story all the buzz right now?
Myself
Um, well yes, it was.
Inner Self
So what happened?
Myself
I got bit by this bug called ‘writer’s desire to write’. Its rare and hardly ever heard of these days.
Inner Self
Sure and you had the worst case of boredom last week so you couldn’t go to work.
Myself
Hmmm. Wonder if work would believe that?
Okay so I like to have mini conversations with myself as you can see. I’m a writer and today I really feel the need to write. Write, write and write some more. Wonder if I’ll manage to not fall asleep?
Terra
20 Monday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on A Dr. Who moment please
To set this journal entry up, one has to understand Dr. Who has traveled everywhere in space and in time so if one acts like the Doctor and maybe travels only space it might not be a great world trying to explain oneself to humans. This is my idea of what a journal entry from someone like that might be like. Enjoy.
Journal ….Star Date Unknown
The hand was about to strike 5 past the hour of 11 on the bell clock. Though the bell clock had been broke for decades, I could still remember the rings, whistles and bangs when it worked. I wondered looking at it if it might ring tonight for memory sake but the hand was stubborn refusing to budge.
The bell clock had stood the test of time. Hundreds of wars had been fought at its feet. Thousands had flung themselves from the top step above the clock hands to their deaths. More had been in awe of its height and wonder when it worked. I was just a bit annoyed it didn’t start up with the demand of my thoughts. Granted nothing ever did what I thought it should but I hadn’t given up the idea that something might one day do it.
Well I’m sure at this point you are wondering who I am. What and where I am might be a better question. Surely your mind didn’t think we were on Earth and I was a mere human male looking at some ancient relic from human kind’s past. Too bad you forgot to think beyond your own world.
So back to the more pressing questions at hand. What and Where am I?
I, good sir or mam or miss or child, am a star gazer. Yep, was born on a planet called Milldew in the middle of the Whirlpool Galaxy. Given up by my good mum to be raised by Nutters who talked a good yarn or two about the stars. Wasn’t until my 10th birthday I learned I was a star gazer. Oh, what a birthday it was with its cake and presents. I do fear it, my birthday tale, would take too long to tell but what a story indeed.
Where was I, oh yes. What is a star gazer?
So many questions you have tonight. Normally you humans are less chatty and more where is the action, the killing and so forth. Oh, well I guess questions are good as well as answers when you can find them.
A star gazer is much like a time traveler without time. I could time travel but it’s such a wobbly weird thing and it’s rather hard to explain so I won’t but it’s not much of a thing I like to do. I like to travel the stars. That is what star gazers do. They travel the entire area of space from one side to the other and back in their space travel thing. We can get to that later and no it’s not a blue box. You would be surprised how many people ask me that one and I, to this day, can never figure out why everyone thinks I should be traveling in a blue box.
Where am I?
I am not but I was on a blue planet like Earth but the blue is the land and the green is the sea. One massive land surrounded by green seas. Rather wonderful if you ask me. A pretty sight on any boring day and I had ventured over here to break up that boring day.
I was minding my own business as I usually do in my travels and a girl. A girl comes up to me in a short dress and a large feather in her pink hair. A girl. Most girls, the young ones, stay far away from me. Star gazers have rumors said about them, lies spread from one spot to another and it keeps everyone a few inches or two away. This girl comes right up next to me and she asks me about the weather.
‘What weather will we have tomorrow?,’ she asked.
‘I don’t know. I can’t see tomorrow so I don’t know how to tell you what the weather will be like,’ I said.
‘Really? I heard it was going to be a calm day with light brown clouds against the purple Sun,’ she said.
‘Might be. Could be I guess,’ I said.
That is when it happened. Really it did. Right then as the last s of the word guess rolled off my lips, a bright white light against the yellow sky and it blocked my wonderful view of the sea. The green sea had been coming in ripples and shimmering into the town’s bay and this darn white light blocked it.
I was upset and to say upset is far from light. I slammed my foot down and demanded to know who thought their white light was far more important than my view.
He was a little fat man. He was half my size at about 5 feet. He was round in the belly and fat in the feet. His hands were puffy and he smoked a cigar. His teeth were yellow and he looked like a pot belly pig that smoked, drank and walked upright. A rather gross sight to say the least.
He didn’t say anything to my demands of knowledge. He stood there in the middle of the white light and laughed at me. He found me funny. This upset me further and my face became red with anger. I swung out at this fat short man but missed by a mile. I was never a fighter and the fat man knew it. He laughed harder.
It was then I had the wonderful idea to leave. But to leave to where? Where would I go to escape this laughter? I could go anywhere in space. With my mind made up and my face back to its original color of pasty pale, I simply walked away from the white light, the fat man and the girl.
The fat man stopped laughing and frowned. I was his enjoyment and I had decided the fun was over. He didn’t like it and in seconds gave orders to unseen men to do very bad things to me. I don’t remember the words he used as my mind was working out where I was going. It didn’t dawn on me that the fat man meant to hurt me until I was leaving in my space travel device.
My device is a clever thing. A bed. No that isn’t crazy or stupid and yes I know someone on Earth used it in a movie to travel. What was it called Broomsticks and blah blah. I don’t see how it matters.
Anyway, back to my device, my bed. It isn’t like a normal bed. It has a force shield to protect those who travel on her. It is rather comfortable for longer trips and smells like flowers in bloom. No it isn’t bigger on any side. Where do these weird questions come from?
It flies you to and from and that is it. It isn’t made to stay on it or live on it. And why on any planet would I do that? Humans are sexual but really do you think your naughty thoughts about the bed and its uses were really needed. I for one don’t so skipping all those questions and thoughts.
So I jumped on my bed, click the bed handle and away I went, of course the flaming cans of doom were flying at me as I went. This is about where I realized the fat man meant me harm. Can you believe it? A flaming doom can bomb. Who knew the little man was carrying that kind of weapons or that he knew what one was. Next time I met him, I will have to ask him all about it.
So as I flew away into the night sky, I remembered this clock. It worked last time I was here. Five decades ago earth time, it worked. It was massive and when it rang out the bells were music mixed in with deaf causing noise. Shear wonder.
On that, this entry is done as I’m tired and need some old fashion rest.
Signed,
River.
No, I’m not a girl and I’ve never heard of this Dr. Who, whoever he is. Wow, these endless weird questions never ease to keep popping up. Every darn planet keeps asking about him. Who, is this doctor and why does he travel in a blue box? If I ever do met him, I’m getting my straight jacket to wrap him up in, he sounds crazier than the Nutters.
19 Sunday May 2013
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in≈ Comments Off on Sleepy Habits
Yes, sleepy habits are getting in my way again. I write, I sleep. It’s like reading a good novel and your eyes get heavy and before you know it; poof you find yourself in dreamland. Writing is becoming an ordeal of trying to stay awake after the last word gets typed and trying to just write. I want to write, I like the bleak and dismal story but I hate I get so tired afterwards. I believe it’s worse than writer’s block.
Image every writer out there typing away and filling up blank spaces with letters forming into words and just about the time they have the whole idea out of their heads they fall asleep. Their noggins bang against plastic keyboards and sore foreheads are felt days later. It’s enough to make a writer think twice about the act of sharing their stories.
Still I feel the need, the urge and the desire to share. Headache or not. I finished the short story expect for one scene has to get the last lines done. It means more or less I’m to the wonderful world of drafts. It’s a short story at only about 6000 words so I am not in total fear my life will be lost to the endless drafts. I am worried about sleeping too much, gaining weight and feeling rather dull from writing but as I said I can’t stop. Not now. I’m so close to a finished something.
Bleak as it may be. And it is very bleak. Borderline …oh what is beyond bleak and dismal… what world lies beyond the graves of people and the sadness of grief… well whatever lies beyond that is almost where this story starts, is and ends. Very sad, bleak and well dismal. Not a hero and savior story. Not even close. No one finds a way to switch the hell they live in or change human kind in some dramatic way where everyone turns into the nicest of creatures. Nope. This story starts with dying hope and ends there. The point of the whole thing is there really isn’t one. There isn’t a reason to be on this journey if you can call it that. Its more about wanting to know why or how bad is this place or how bad can it get? I think that is why I wanted to write it out and why anyone would ever read it. They will want to know how bad is bad and how the blank did the world get here. Past that I doubt there is any reason to read or write a story like this one.
Now I finished writing in my blog, sad to say, I now need a nap. One day I’m going to figure out how to escape the sand man and his power over my writing. I swear he hears the keys as my fingers hit them and rushes to my side to see if it might be words in a story, words in my blog or perhaps words in my novel. He then hits me a good one across the head which of course I only feel in droopy eyes and heavy limbs.
Oh well no need to fight him tonight, maybe tomorrow.. maybe.
Terra
13 Monday May 2013
Posted Uncategorized
in≈ Comments Off on Working
So the short story continues… Actually I feel driven to write it which is better than before after a year of writing my novel. Writing had become tiresome and boring. No drive left. Now it hits me and I get up to type at the keyboard. I can’t help but write. I want to write. Yep, I needed a break. Once this is done and published, I plan to hit the novel again to get it done and published too.
Now off to write. Have a great and wonderful day!
Terra
10 Friday May 2013
Posted Character building, Happy writing times
in≈ Comments Off on Here I am again!
Working on something cool and exciting but short!
A short story!
It should be done in the next several months and I will keep you posted. Once done, it will be put on Amazon for either .99 to 1.99 in the USA with a later release for Canada, UK and Aussie.
So far it is under 5000 words with two to three more scenes to add to the first draft. I am hoping in the draft process it climbs up to 5000-15,000 words. Anything above 25,000 and I’ll charge higher. I do not believe the story itself can support that kind of word count.
It is a bleak look at Earth’s future. It is set in a place called the Islands off a main land. I used the idea of Japan vs China in the setting with a more American use of people and reasons to why things are in the current state. There is no saving the world, no hero and no way out of the current way things are in the story. It is more a look at the bleakness of life and how things can go from worse to horrible in seconds. I have to work on my pitch for this story and how everything plays out in the story itself. I do believe even through it isn’t your normal set up of a story that it does deliver a worth reading moment.
Terra
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