Martin Lochman is an emerging author who lives in Malta and works as an academic librarian at the University of Malta Library. He has published one short story in Ikarie, a Czech science fiction literary magazine, and several flash fiction stories in various anthologies and on 365tomorrows.com.
How long have you been writing and what got you started?
My first attempts at creative writing can be traced back to primary school and if memory serves they were heavily influenced by classic science fiction films such as Jurassic park, Independence day, Star Gate and others – in a nutshell: all about dinosaurs and aliens. I have been writing steadily through high school with some success (I have participated in a few literary competitions for young and emerging writers and managed to publish a short story in a SF literary magazine Ikarie) but stopped completely when I started studying at the University. I got back to it only last autumn, believe it or not, and what made me do it was a simple curiosity: I wanted to know if I could still write a story and if I could write it in English (I am not a native speaker and all my previous literary attempts were in Czech).
What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
Be critical of your own work. Once you finish writing a story, set it aside for a bit and then attack it from every angle possible. Try to take it apart piece by piece. I am always surprised how many things can be made better second time around.
What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?
As I have advertised in one of my previous answers it’s definitely science fiction (hard SF, post-apocalyptic SF and technical SF in particular). I really enjoy reading the masters of the genre – Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton – as well as newer authors – Michael Crichton or Justin Cronin. But the list definitely doesn’t end there, there are many, many more.
What tips do you have for finding time to write?
I think the one that works for me most is pretty well-known: prioritize your hobbies. If you have an hour to watch TV or scroll through social media, you have an hour that you could potentially spend more creatively.
What do you think the publishing industry will look like twenty-five years from now?
I don’t think it will be that much different from today. Electronic publishing will definitely be prevalent but printed books won’t disappear entirely. There will probably be many more journals and different platforms that will make it easier for new authors to not only get their name out there but also find their readers.
Are you an outliner or discovery writer? Or somewhere in between?
I would say that I am somewhere in between. When I am writing a very short piece like flash fiction I have a general idea and the punch-line in my head and I just let my imagination fill in the blanks. When it comes to longer stories, I first dutifully write down the outline, key ideas, characters and only then start to piece the text together. This also helps me to avoid making mistakes as far as the logic of the story is concerned (for the most part).
Have you attended any conferences or writing retreats? What was the experience like and do you have any to recommend?
I attended a few creative writing seminars lead by one of the best SF&F authors in Czech Republic – Lucie Lukacovicova – when I was still in high school. I think that especially for young and emerging authors such a seminar is extremely useful because it helps them to nail down the basics of what makes a good story and offers an immediate assessment by other authors and professionals.
How do you deal with rejections?
I try not to take them too personally and apply some of that “when one door closes, another one opens” philosophy. It also helps when the rejections are accompanied by an explanation because it gives me some sort of closure and ideas on how to make a story better.
What are your writing goals for the next five years?
I have an idea for a couple of longer short stories that I would like to put on paper in the foreseeable future but in long term I would like to give it a try and write a novel.
What book are you reading right now?
Right now I am finishing The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin.
