Matt Hartle is a multi-talented individual who has immersed himself in various artistic disciplines. Initially embarking on his creative journey in the late 90s while pursuing Illustration at the Art Center College of Design, he has since delved into the realms of writing, painting, directing, designing, and VFX artistry. With an extensive career spanning numerous A-list features, Hartle’s notable contributions include his remarkable work on iconic films like “Superman – Man of Steel,” multiple installments of the “Harry Potter” series, as well as the renowned Sony Pictures Animation and Lionsgate logos.
In addition to his artistic endeavors, Hartle has ventured into the realm of authorship and recently celebrated the publication of his debut novel, “Of Courage and Sacrifice – Book One of the Bot Trilogy.”
Hartle currently resides in Montana with his wife and children.
How do you approach world-building in your books, and what elements do you consider most important in creating a rich and immersive fictional world?
When developing characters and stories, I try to imagine a world that will help place those elements center stage. The world should serve as a backdrop to the story being told but can also provide additional motivation or tension to help move things along. My guiding principle in world-building is to base things as much as possible in reality and believability. I can introduce more fantastical elements once a firm grounding has been established. Also, I do a lot of research as I write to deepen my understanding of the places I describe and create. Often there is a lot of information and unique takes, and it can be inspiring to dig into those and find new facets to explore. I also find visuals to be motivating. The internet provides a bottomless well of imagery; sometimes, a single visual or part of an image can inspire a whole new tangent. But all of this is bound within the confines of the story and characters. Launching into pages of exposition about this fantastic world you have created can be a dangerous trap and one I’ve fallen into. I think keeping the world at the service of the characters and story is essential.
How has the digital age and the rise of digital platforms affected your experience as an author, and what opportunities and challenges do you see in navigating the changing landscape of publishing and book marketing?
Digital platforms and ebooks have allowed anyone to publish a story. When books must be presented in printed form, it creates a significant barrier to entry into the marketplace. Even if you manage to successfully navigate the physical publishing process, you still have to get the books into stores to attract eyeballs, and that is a challenging thing to do. Not to mention, being in a single store will only sell a few copies.
Online publishing and ebooks change all that. For one, there’s the economics for the author. An ebook can be sold for a few dollars or given for free, and it doesn’t cost the author anything. Physical books are costly to print and ship. From a consumer standpoint, I am more likely to take a chance on a new author when I can purchase their book for $2.99 as an ebook than I am to buy a physical copy for $12.00 or more.
Digital publishing also unlocks the Publishing Industry, so to speak. Anyone that has tried to attract the attention of a literary agent knows how incredibly tedious the process can be. Just today, I read a statistic – I can’t verify the truth of it – one in six thousand people will actually land an agent. Those are not great odds. Also, the query process is involved and taxing. Letters need to be explicitly structured to whom you are querying, need to perfectly pitch your book, need to help imagine your book in the marketplace, etc. These are all good practices and things you should probably do and understand as an author, but preparing a dozen or hundreds of letters can take months. Then you get to wait months to hear back if you hear anything at all. Clearly, I’m disillusioned with that process! There’s an old saying in the film industry, “By the time you can land an agent, you don’t need one!” Of course, I would love to find that magical collaboration – perhaps someday!
I have found my time, efforts, and resources are better applied to marketing and selling the book myself. This includes social media, interviews, articles, and, most importantly, finding an excellent and trustworthy marketing company to help you strategize and structure a holistic approach to selling your book. There is a balance between time and resources, and it will be different for everyone. For me, it makes sense to work with seasoned professionals who understand the intricacies of online marketing. It’s also important to remember that publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. You always want to be moving forward, but it will be a long process – it’s similar to writing a book that way!
Fantasy often explores heroism, destiny, and the battle between good and evil. Your work definitely takes on these themes. What is it that you find so attractive about these themes?
Human conflict is the root of all the stories I love to experience and tell. Some archetypal story tropes, such as those mentioned above, are understood to be foundational in structuring a good story. An author’s job is to understand these basic principles and motivations and then add nuance. For example, in the struggle of good against evil, not all good is pure, and neither is evil. It makes characters more interesting when both are aspects within them, and they struggle to choose their path.
I think there is a certain catharsis in writing a character’s destiny. Often in life, we struggle to find our path. As an author, you can design that for your characters, allowing for analysis and discovery along the way. Engaging stories are defined by the characters’ journeys, the lessons they learn, and their choices. For the reader, it’s exciting to watch characters learn and grow, accomplish some goals, and fail at others.
How does your experience in the film industry influence your approach to storytelling in your books, and what unique elements or techniques do you incorporate into your writing as a result?
My academic background is in traditional art, figure painting, drawing, and design. That eventually evolved into working in entertainment as an artist, creative director, designer, and director. One thing that connects all of these is a focus on visualization. As I write, I always have a visual in mind I am working to describe. It helps me to develop a more profound sense of place and character. The balance for me is to not over-describe and to remember stories are mainly about the characters.
I have written many scripts, and I think the significant variation between that and writing a novel is that I try not to focus so heavily on the plot. Screenplays, especially when you write them, can feel more like road maps than organically unfolding stories. There are reasons for this, but I don’t find it satisfying, either when reading or writing. I can always tell when an author has been influenced by the script/plot-driven nature of film and television, and it makes their stories less engaging. I prefer the wondering nature literature can assume, how time can be taken to observe a detail or describe an emotional nuance. It’s not always about driving to the next plot point to thrust the story forward. As always, balance is the crucial factor.
I try not to think in terms of the commercial potential of my stories, though I am always aware of them. I do believe if a writer or filmmaker intends to bring their work to an audience, they have to consider what might be appealing. However, if you write or direct purely to appease your audience, I think the material will fail to live up to its potential. Predicting what might be successful commercially can be challenging, and endeavoring to chase that is a difficult road. Certain things always seem to have appeal, and keeping those in mind as you create is probably a good idea. Conflicted characters, high stakes, character arcs with growth, vibrant settings, and well-paced action are some things that come to mind.
In what ways do you find the creative processes of writing books and making films/videos to be similar or different, and how do you navigate the transition between the two mediums?
The most significant difference between the two is also the most obvious. Films are about visuals, and books are about visualization. The guiding principle in filmmaking is to show, not tell; of course, in writing, the job is to describe with words. Often, though, I find the discipline of both is ultimately the same; to convey an emotion or motivation or describe the action of a situation. Each medium has its own strengths. I think it’s difficult to ever really capture the subtlety and nuance of a gifted actor portraying an emotion or reaction with a look or body language. In writing, you might approach the moment by exploring the character’s emotional state and inner thoughts. Both are powerful storytelling tools and are also different and unique to their medium. Of course, you can use voice-over to convey a character’s inner monologue in a film, but it’s more of a crutch to aid poor visual storytelling. In writing, you can describe the look on someone’s face, but it seems to lack the visceral thrust of a developed inner struggle.
As I mentioned above, I tend to visualize as I write, so the two don’t seem so disconnected to me. When directing a short film, as I write the script, I always know what we will see, how I want to stage something, and how I might want an actor to look. In my career, I have worked with filmmakers who don’t have a visual vocabulary for their stories. This always seems odd to me. Filmmaking is first about the visuals. How things are shown, the lighting, staging, and the design of the frame. Every choice in front of the lens affects the story and how an audience will respond. That visual language is similar to how a writer structures sentences, word choice, paragraph breaks, and even punctuation. It all creates the experience you are trying to convey to your audience.
I think filmmaking has made me a better writer by allowing me to visualize what I am writing, and my filmmaking benefits from a developed sense of the emotional nature of the characters, settings, and situations.
In some ways, I think it can be easier to accomplish things when making a film than in writing. The exercise is to understand what you are trying to convey and then how to visualize it. For example, suppose you want to create a sense of isolation for a character. In that case, you could try several craft techniques: shallow depth of field, designed lighting with pockets of illumination and shadows, camera movement, contrast through texture, color, and light – so many things! In writing, isolation might be an emotional conveyance that relies on subtle and delicate inner conflict. All are powerful storytelling tools but also very different.
I enjoy exploring both disciplines – each scratch an itch, so to speak! I don’t think I could be satisfied without both filmmaking and writing in my life.
