David M. Moore – author

Author: David Moore

  • Reducing Distraction – Expanding Horizons

    Reducing Distraction – Expanding Horizons

    The thing that has made me the most creative has been a lack of distractions. Distractions come in many forms, but today the biggest is the smartphone. YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn – name your mind poison.

    I’ve known for years that being bored is great for my creativity. Getting bored is difficult in today’s information age. There is so much to distract you from your boredom and your brain doesn’t want to be bored. At least mine doesn’t.

    I’ve been cutting out the distractions in favor of the things that I believe really matter in life. Family, friends, reading a good book, the hobbies that I constantly cycle between. Those are more important to me than the next meme, video, or viral post.

    It’s hard though. The deck is stacked against us in this day and age. We need to be connected 24/7 for work, to coordinate with those friends, and to get through the day to day of life. When I pick up the phone to do one of those things, it is so easy to just check that one notification. An hour later, I emerge back into the world from the rectangular screen.

    I’ve been better and better with it over this year, but it’s taken time. It’s not without it’s cost either. Putting the phone aside means less connection with friends, since they too are connected to that phone. It’s a balancing act that is always on the verge of falling over.

    I’d like to say I have the magic formula, that I’ve beaten the algorithms. There is no magic formula. It’s a steady effort of being aware of what you are doing and why you are doing it. I hope those of you out there are able to put that effort in and strive for your own goals, and not those of a corporate algorithm.

    Apologies if this is a bit rambly. I’m writing it late in the evening and I’m headed to bed right after. Good night all!

  • Feeding My Creativity

    Feeding My Creativity

    Last night I fed my creativity, getting out of my current routine and the house. I was playing a character in a local murder mystery dinner.

    In the dinner, five of us and the host circulate around the restaurant as our character. Eventually, the murder happens and we talk with the patrons who are there to find out who of us committed the murder.

    I ended up playing a speakeasy club, Luka Morretti, owner who was merging his assets with another club owner. That club owner ended up dead a few minutes into the dinner. The hunt for the murderer was on.

    It was a fun time. It gets me out of my normal routine to do this about once a month. It recharges some of my creative batteries to be out and about and in this case, trying to make sure I am not pinned as the murderer. I wasn’t the murderer this time, though I came in a close second to the actual murderer that the people voted on.

    I intend to write every day. That doesn’t mean there will be a post every day, but I will be writing.

  • Starting Out and Overcoming Stalled Writing

    Starting Out and Overcoming Stalled Writing

    Beginning, it’s either hard or easy. For me it depends on how much or how little I know about a subject. If I don’t know much about the subject, I jump in feet first and begin. The more knowledge about a subject I have, the harder a beginning is for me. I know what is coming, the work that will be needed, and the obstacles that I have to overcome. Knowing what lays in store dampens my enthusiasm for the good times to be had.

    All of this said, I’m starting my journey on becoming an author.

    Technically, I’ve already started. I’ve written before, even been published before with a technical guide and with pieces in the role playing game industry. The true beginning here if my quest to become a fiction author.

    I’m halfway through my first novel that I plan to get published. The hard part for me is I’m at the point in the book where I’m stalled. There’s plot to be worked out and other things in my life have caused me to be out of the writing groove for quite a while. A year?

    I’m using this blog as a way to be writing, even if I’m not working on the novel. I’ve tried this before and it’s worked sometimes with a private journal. I’ve not been successful with blogging my thoughts though.

    I haven’t been successful since I am generally a private person and don’t put my thoughts out to strangers often. It’s sometimes hard to get me to open up until I’ve gotten to know you. Though if you talk with me about a subject I am interested in, you may find it hard to get me to stop.

    Since you are all strangers, please, make yourselves known to me. That way we won’t be strangers any longer.

    We’ll see if this works and I can continue the blogging here while writing the novel. I’ve blogged before, it never stuck. This is with a purpose, which usually makes the difference for me.

    Welcome,

    David M. Moore

  • Hello from Worldcon 2025!

    Hello from Worldcon 2025!

    Welcome to the new blog. Given that I am getting through the first draft of my novel, it was time to start this thing up.

    I’m in Seattle Washington for Worldcon 2025 at the moment. It’s the day of the Hugo awards. I’ve had a good time so far attending panels, meeting with friends old and new, and seeing a small slice of Seattle.

    In attending the panels, I’ve realized I am at the point where panels aren’t moving me forward. I need to sit down and write, finish the novel. Don’t get me wrong, they are good panels. I’ve heard the advice in different forms already. They’re more enjoyment and procrastinating for me now.

    The book is coming along. It’s a mystery thriller in a future sci-fi setting. It has themes of loss, family, and how memory shapes us.

    I’m at a point in the novel where I am going back to the outline and needing to rework it. The original outline is fine, but incomplete. There are gaps to getting from here to there. For a mystery and thriller, that’s definitely an issue. I’ve been reworking and filling in the gaps lately.

    Time for me to leave for Worldcon this morning. In the spirit of John Scalzi, here’s my view from the hotel window, except this is from the Space Needle.