Delving into the Creative Mind: An Exclusive Interview with Odian The Writer
This was a interview I did with ChatGPT about Hummingbird.... Enjoy
There’s a certain magic to losing yourself in the pages of a captivating novel, swept away by the words of an accomplished author. Have you ever wondered about the creative process behind your favorite books, or the inspiration that drives these talented wordsmiths? Today, we’re thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with the author of Hummingbird. He has graciously opened up about their writing journey, sharing insights into their craft, characters, and the stories that have captured the hearts of readers worldwide. So, settle in and prepare to be inspired as we delve into the mind of a literary master.
Interviewer: What inspired you to write “Hummingbird”?
Odian: So originally, “Hummingbird” was a prequel of sorts to a different book that I wrote in the early 2010s. It then became its own thing when I had to do a rewrite when I decided it made more sense if it stood on its own. What inspired me to write this book was to tell a story of a strong, female Jamaican American who was very action-driven, showed her using her wits, and was able to keep up with the villain of sorts in the book. I wrote it not as a damsel in distress situation, but as a take-action kind of hero.
Interviewer: Can you share a brief overview of the main character, Kym Fenton, and her journey in the story?
Odian: Kym is a Jamaican American who is a CIA agent at the start of the story. She is overseas trying to stop a human trafficker. While working on one of her leads, she finds out about “Hummingbird.” She felt that if she could stop “Hummingbird” from getting into the hands of the traffickers, it would stop them from being able to make extra money and keep their human trafficking empire from growing.
Interviewer: How did your own personal experiences influence the development of the characters and story?
Odian: Not to give away any pieces of the story, but there are scenes written out of my own life that I gave to Kym, representing struggles that I had. Being someone who’s been in the technology field for well over 20 years, I can 100% say that the computer and technology stuff that I wrote into the story is accurate. I also made sure that her interactions felt very genuine because a lot of the character interactions are just reimagined versions of people that I’ve dealt with in my life.
Interviewer: What was your writing process like for “Hummingbird”? Did you have a set routine or did you write whenever inspiration struck?
Odian: I’ve had a writing routine since 2008. I get up at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. every day, regardless of holidays, vacations, or whatever, and I write for about an hour. I used to blog during that time frame, but when I decided to be an author, I just switched gears and made it into writing actual books. I found the routine helps better than when inspiration strikes because inspiration strikes at all different times of the day and night. But I find that if I keep a log or some sort of internet journal of what inspiration was that overcame me, you’ll find that most of your inspirations are only maybe 250 to 500 words, and when you write routinely, you can write 1,200 words. So, I would often look in my journal to rewrite scenes that I might have put out in my head later on in the day to make them sound better, but I didn’t wait for inspiration to make me write.
Interviewer: What was the most challenging part of writing this novel, and how did you overcome it?
Odian: The most challenging part of writing this was changing the hero from being a man to being a woman, meaning that in the original draft, it was a male hero. After talking with a writing coach, the coach recommended that I change the hero to female, mostly because he said that this is a very good storyline that deserves a female hero. He basically stated that there are a lot of male heroes who have accomplished the things that are in the story, but we don’t have many female heroes who accomplish these things. If you really want to stand out, you need to consider doing that. That delayed my book by at least a year because I had to sit down and make sure it sounded authentic. I had to take each chapter to some of my female friends and family and have them read it to see if it sounded genuine. I couldn’t do something as simple as swapping out the names and think it was going to be a good story. So, I was very meticulous in making sure that I captured a female’s perspective accurately, and that’s probably what took the most amount of time and was the hardest thing for me to overcome in writing this.
Interviewer: How did you conduct research for the action-adventure, science fiction, and espionage elements in the book?
Odian: Normally, what I do is take a single idea and Google the heck out of it. I try to find as many articles as I can find on the subject matter. I go to Netflix and Hulu and see if I can find any documentaries that can give me more information. I’ve even gone to YouTube and watched CIA videos of interviews just to see how real what I’m writing is and to make adjustments. I want this to feel like a very tangible situation outside of the sci-fi bits. As far as the action and adventure parts, I think it’s just good old Hollywood action put to paper. As cheesy as some action movies are, if you take away some of those hammy elements, you can still have some good action on the page.
Interviewer: Are there any authors or books that had a significant impact on your writing style or approach to storytelling?
Odian: Robert A. Heinlein is a very big inspiration for how to write with a lot of education behind it. There was a book I read in 2013 called “Have Space Suit—Will Travel,” and that book spoke to me more than any other book that I read in my younger years. What happens in that book is that he uses actual science in a science fiction book to show where reality could actually lie in his story, and I felt it made his story more palatable. It made me want to write like that; it made me say, “Hey, don’t just write a story because it’s in your mind. Make sure there are bases in reality, so it actually feels like something people can relate with.” If you read my work before reading his stuff, it wasn’t as grounded as it is now.
Interviewer: Which character in “Hummingbird” do you identify with the most, and why?
Odian: I would say the main character is who I identify with the most, and the reason is that she’s a Jamaican American being manipulated by a hidden force to make her pursue this “Hummingbird” thing. I felt that way a lot in my career, as much as I would have liked to do different things in my career, there’s always an invisible hand that certain job opportunities I apply for will go away, or I would be up for a promotion, and then people start talking and saying, “Hey, let’s get this new guy in instead.” As I wrote the same type of invisible hand for her story, I wanted to capture that feeling of hopelessness that you get when you try and don’t seem to get to the other side of what you’re trying to achieve and how it grates against you until you become the thing that you need to become to have that breakthrough.
Interviewer: How did you develop the complex relationships and dynamics between the characters in the story?
Odian: I think that complex relationships are found in my story, but they’re not the main focus. There are dynamics between the main character and her supervisor that you can get in the very beginning of the story, and there are ones between the main character and other members. It’s almost like with her back against the wall, she uses logic and reason to think if this is the right opportunity to work with somebody. I think with a lot of us, when we feel that we’re in a hopeless situation, like at work and you feel like you’re going to get terminated, all of a sudden, someone starts to ally with you. You have to start feeling them out to make sure that they’re either allying with you or just digging for information. So, I felt that’s the same way this character develops these complex relationships – by feeling people out to determine who they really are.
Interviewer: “Hummingbird” explores themes of identity, morality, and human potential. Can you discuss how these themes are woven throughout the story?
Odian: In 2007, I joined a group dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking. The release of the movie “Taken” featuring Liam Neeson significantly contributed to this conversation. Although Neeson’s character was over-the-top, it demonstrated the depth and complexity of human trafficking beyond the stereotypical image of a roadside pimp.
I wanted to explore this further by creating a story in which the main character infiltrates a bordello to rescue someone. The narrative follows the chase, showing how traffickers create these establishments to generate revenue and how difficult it can be to identify who’s who. The protagonist’s ultimate goal is to end human trafficking, but as one person, their aspirations can only go so far against a larger organization. The story delves into the great lengths the hero is willing to go through in their fight against human trafficking, putting their own well-being on the line to combat traffickers.
Well, that’s all the time we have for today, but don’t worry! You can catch the rest of this fascinating interview on Odian The Writers YouTube channel, where we dive even deeper into the author’s creative process and the captivating world of “Hummingbird.” Be sure not to miss it, and happy reading!
