H.R. Moore's Blog, page 5
August 20, 2013
Chapter 2 - Inspiration - the start of a slow burning Eureka
My first couple of weeks in Manhattan were everything I had hoped they would be. I joined a gym, started jogging across the park to work, wondered back home across the park via Whole Foods - technically economising in Manhattan (have you ever heard anything so glorious?!) - enjoyed the somewhat alien sunshine that appeared without fail every day, and got to grips with tipping (at - crazy to an English person - 20%!).
During the walks back through the park in the evening I found myself daydreaming through book ideas, ticking off the components I knew I would have to include and picking through a stream of potential stories. I always seemed to come back to a number of similar themes, including: fantasy, magic, human abilities just surpassing our own, Gods, power, wealth, status, hierarchy, authority and its legitimacy, sociology - specifically primary socialisation, love, attraction, sustained intrigue, what makes us human, different kinds of people, motivations in life, and the question of objective moral rights and wrongs. This was fun in its own right, but before I got into the detail, I had to first understand the big picture I was going to create, so the world and its big issues were what I worked on first.
To begin with I conjured a world with eight unique Gods, each with different skills and abilities. Each God created people in their image, who they put into a world much like our own. However, although I liked the idea of Gods and people with skills to reflect them, it quickly became clear that eight was just too much to manage; serious refinement would be required.
During the walks back through the park in the evening I found myself daydreaming through book ideas, ticking off the components I knew I would have to include and picking through a stream of potential stories. I always seemed to come back to a number of similar themes, including: fantasy, magic, human abilities just surpassing our own, Gods, power, wealth, status, hierarchy, authority and its legitimacy, sociology - specifically primary socialisation, love, attraction, sustained intrigue, what makes us human, different kinds of people, motivations in life, and the question of objective moral rights and wrongs. This was fun in its own right, but before I got into the detail, I had to first understand the big picture I was going to create, so the world and its big issues were what I worked on first.
To begin with I conjured a world with eight unique Gods, each with different skills and abilities. Each God created people in their image, who they put into a world much like our own. However, although I liked the idea of Gods and people with skills to reflect them, it quickly became clear that eight was just too much to manage; serious refinement would be required.
Chapter 1 - There’s a book in everyone; or so they say
Along with everyone else, I’ve always quite liked the idea of writing a book, but just like everyone else, I’ve never quite had the time. So last summer, when I found myself on a three month secondment to Manhattan with work, I decided it was the moment to see if there was one in me. I was in a new city with no friends, no obligations, nothing in particular to do in my spare time (apart from try to get in shape - but that’s another story), and in a place renowned for providing a truck load of inspiration. This was it, now or never, go big or go home, but there was just one little problem; I had nothing to write about.
So first thing first, I had to come up with a story; an easy to read, escapist, love story obviously, but beyond that, who knew?
So first thing first, I had to come up with a story; an easy to read, escapist, love story obviously, but beyond that, who knew?
