A warm welcome to Cody Martin, who, among other things, likes cats, Neil Gaiman,
writing on the roof and watching movies. He once dreamt of becoming an astronaut. Currently teaching in Japan, Cody has written a fantasy novel called Adventure Hunters. Read on to find out more about him...
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| What I usually wear when I'm writing... |
What is your day
job or are you lucky enough to write for a living?
I work part-time, teaching English at an English
conversation school in Japan. It allows me time to write while also doing my
share of the housework, since my wife often works 12-hour days.
What books have
you written so far?
Only one: Adventure
Hunters. It’s a fantasy story about a trio of treasure hunters who discover
ancient war machines and must stop their king from using their destructive
powers. It was originally a screenplay I wrote, but I adapted into a novel.
What works in
progress do you have?
A sci-fi book tentatively titled The Super School Uniform. A Japanese junior high-school girl gains
a suit that gives her superpowers, and she must prevent aliens from
terraforming the Earth into a copy of their home world. It’s my first work that
was totally conceived as a novel.
How long did it
take you to write your book/s?
Adventure Hunters
started out as a screenplay, which I began about seven years ago. I wrote it on
and off; writing for a few weeks, taking months off at a time, writing for a
few more months, and so on. After I finished it, I knew it would never become a
screenplay, so I decided to turn it into a novel. That part took about three or
four months.
Do you write
linear, or jump back and forth? Do you plan or write by the seat of your pants?
Linear and I’m an advocate for outlines. A blogger once
said about Christopher Nolan, “While some directors resemble painters, Nolan is
more of an architect. He builds films, analysing every word and labyrinthine
twist. Forward, backward, inside and out.” I really liked that quote and the
more I thought about it, and how I learned to write, and writing in general,
the more I began to think of writing as creating a building.
The outline is the blueprint, giving you a general idea
what your building is going to look like. The first draft involves adding the
foundations, and support pillars and beams. With each subsequent draft, you’re
adding the walls, flooring and ceilings. By the time you reach your final draft,
you’ve got a building, complete with doors, rooms and cabinets. When you made
your blueprint, you probably didn’t know what kind of handles the drawers would
have or what colour the walls would be, but the more you wrote, the more
details came into focus.
I don’t do the massive 150-page outlines that Jeffery
Deaver does, but I can’t ‘wing it’, much like Stephen King does. Those two are
my favourite authors and they have wildly different approaches to writing. I’m
in the middle. I’ll outline, but I don’t have every little detail thought out.
Some stuff comes out in the writing process that I never planned on.
I try to incorporate what inspires me into my outline. If
a major part of the story comes out differently than planned, I rewrite my
outline to include it. I like having my outline up-to-date. I also put the
major events on a timeline, so I don’t get the days mixed up.
Why do you write?
Mostly for myself; to write the stories and characters I
would like to see. When I was at school, I wanted to be a comic-book artist,
but the stories I had in mind seemed more suited to the moving picture, so I
turned towards directing movies. That’s what I studied in college. But I lived
a long way from Hollywood, so I wrote several screenplays. It became clear that
my directing career would never start, plus I moved to Japan to teach. I turned
my screenplay into a novel and learned about self-publishing. Maybe, deep down,
and I’m just finally beginning to realize it, I’ve always wanted to tell
stories.
How long have you
been writing?
On and off, doing bits and pieces, for about 15 years. I
started out doing screenplays and fan-fiction scripts for a few shows I liked,
just for fun. Then I moved into original screenplays. After doing several of
those, I dabbled in short stories to try a different format of writing, and then
I moved on to full-length novels.
Where and when do
you write? Do you have set times?
I used to write on the roof of my apartment; it has a
nice view of the town, it’s quiet and hardly used. I’d gather up my iPad,
music, cap and shades, and something to drink. When the roof was too windy, I’d
retire to the balcony. With winter coming up, I write indoors in the living
room. I’m still trying to adjust my writing schedule to my new job, but I try
to write every day.
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| My favourite writing space |
Which character
from your books do you like most / are most like?
I like Lisa, from Adventure
Hunters. She’s fun-loving, even though she had a tough childhood. Since she
is a teenager, she doesn’t have to be as serious as the other two. I’m hoping
to explore more about her and her past in an upcoming novel.
What/who inspired
you to write and still inspires you?
Stephen King, especially after reading On Writing. That should be a must-read
for every author. He openly admits there are people who are highly talented,
but at the same time he says that with hard work and some know-how, almost
anyone can do it. He doesn’t treat writing as a mythical thing; it’s a job,
just like laying bricks or hauling trucks.
Also, in a roundabout way, George Lucas and Steve Jobs.
Lucas once said that advances in technology will give rise to “garage
filmmakers” – people who have talent and passion, but might not have had a
chance before to get their stories out there to the public, because they didn’t
have access to the technology. Steve Jobs helped to create and foster
technology that is intuitive and easy to use. I think we are seeing a version
of Lucas’s vision in the publishing industry now. People with a passion to
write now have the means to get their stories out there.
What do you think
is the ideal recipe for a good novel or story?
Well-written characters and a good plot. I tend to favour
plot over story. I like characters doing
things. To me, plot and story are slightly different. They are intertwined and
connected, but slightly different. Plot is what
happens; story is why it happens. Two
men walk into a bar and start arguing – that is plot. The reason they are
arguing – maybe one man wrecked the other man’s car – is story.
Have you ever
based a character on someone from real life? And did you tell them?
I sometimes use part of a friend’s name for a character.
But I’ve never based a whole character on someone. I’d ask them first, if I was
planning on it.
Fave things:
animal? food? drink? film? colour? band? song? place? item of clothing?
Cats - I love them, especially Ragdolls and Maine Coons.
Chicken.
A&W Root Beer.
Azumi, an
awesome Japanese film, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.
Black.
Morning Musume – I’ve been to their concerts eight times
in five years.
Read ‘em and Weep
by Meat Loaf.
Tokyo – I don’t get there nearly as many times as I want
to.
Long-sleeved shirts.
When you were a
kid, what did you want to do/who did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut.
Would you say that
your dreams have come true or are you still working on them?
I’m still working on them, but I’m happy with my life at
this point. I don’t feel I have any unfulfilled dreams that are weighing me
down.
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| My book |
You’re walking in
the forest and you bump into an alien librarian from Mars. He wants five book
recommendations from you…
Being a SF fan, I’m intrigued by this alien.
Recommendations of Earth’s greatest literature? Just my recommendations? I’m
assuming so. If he can visit from another world, I’m sure he has enough room in
his interstellar library for more than just five books from every world. Let’s
see…
The Cold Moon
by Jeffery Deaver;
The Lord of the
Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien;
The Shining by
Stephen King;
The Light of Other
Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter; and
Neverwhere by
Neil Gaiman.
Which three
authors would you like to take to the pub?
Stephen King, Christopher L. Bennett and Jeffery Deaver.
Are you published
or self-published? What is your experience?
Self-published. I’ve found marketing and promotion to be
difficult. But the fact that it is all on me, that the novel I wrote will be
created the way I want it, makes it great.
How do you find
the marketing experience?
I’m still very much a newbie at that part. I have a lot
to learn.
What advice would
you give other writers just starting out?
Write what you want. Don’t look for an audience. Let them
find you.
Do you have a blog? What do you blog about?
Yes, I do. My blog is at http://codylmartin.blogspot.jp. I usually blog about
writing and my projects, but I’m branching out into other areas, like book
reviews and my thoughts on certain movies, etc.
What other hobbies do you have?
I’m a huge fan of the group Morning Musume. I watch a lot
of movies, mostly action and SF. Since I have a part-time job, I often help to take
care of the house while my wife works full-time.
What would you
like to achieve in the next five years?
To have five books out – at least one a year; more if I
can do it. And to have enough money saved up, so that my wife and I can look into
getting our own house.
If you won the
Lotto or a major publishing contract, what would you do with that dosh?
Buy a house. It’s amazing how expensive houses are here,
in Japan.
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