Creative Principles

Latest Episodes:

Ep472 - Ink by the Barrel (Audiobook) - Chapter 4 Nov 05, 2023

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Welcome to Creative Principles! In this special episode, we’re sharing the audiobook version of Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers by author Brock Swinson, which is based on interviews from this very podcast. It’s our mission to give away 100,000 copies of the book in 2023! We’ve given away thousands of copies already. To help our cause, please share these episodes and you can also get the PDF version of the book here: www.brockswinson.com/ink Inside this book, you’ll learn groundbreaking secrets, such as… - Annihilate Writer's Block by Embracing Elizabeth Gilbert's "Playful Trickster" Mentality - Learn to Weaponize Your Anxiety with Kevin Kelly's "Different is Better" Approach - Defend Your Time with Ryan Holiday's "Calendar Anorexia" Mindset - Create Ruthless Prioritization with Stephen Covey's "Urgent Versus Important" System - Uncover the Truth About "Magic" with Raymond Teller's Steps to Avoid Self-Sabotage If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60 seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom of your Apple Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep471 - Ink by the Barrel (Audiobook) - Chapter 3 Nov 04, 2023

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Ep470 - Ink by the Barrel (Audiobook) - Chapter 2 Nov 04, 2023

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Ep469 - Ink by the Barrel (Audiobook) - Chapter 1 Nov 04, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to Creative Principles! In this special episode, we’re sharing the audiobook version of Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers by author Brock Swinson, which is based on interviews from this very podcast. It’s our mission to give away 100,000 copies of the book in 2023! We’ve given away thousands of copies already. To help our cause, please share these episodes and you can also get the PDF version of the book here: https://www.brockswinson.com/ink Inside this book, you’ll learn groundbreaking secrets, such as… - Annihilate Writer's Block by Embracing Elizabeth Gilbert's "Playful Trickster" Mentality - Learn to Weaponize Your Anxiety with Kevin Kelly's "Different is Better" Approach - Defend Your Time with Ryan Holiday's "Calendar Anorexia" Mindset - Create Ruthless Prioritization with Stephen Covey's "Urgent Versus Important" System - Uncover the Truth About "Magic" with Raymond Teller's Steps to Avoid Self-Sabotage If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60 seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom of your Apple Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep468 - Lee Eisenberg, Screenwriter ‘Lessons in Chemistry,’ ‘The Office,’ and ‘Jury Duty’ Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

“I moved out to LA in 1999 with my best friend from high school. Every summer in college, we would write a screenplay. We were waiters during the day and then at night we would write,” says Lee Eisenberg. “Primarily, we would write comedies, or at least what we were attempting to be comedies.” Eventually, the partnership dissolved. Eisenberg’s friend got a real job and he eventually landed a PA job on the film, Bedazzled. “I was the office PA and I met an intern named Gene Stupnitsky (No Hard Feelings) who was working for Harold Ramis.” “We started writing together, sold a few ideas to Larry David for Curb Your Enthusiasm, then wrote a pilot about two loser magicians who were roommates and just trying to get ahead. We were the two losers,” he jokes. “We sold it to Fox. It never got made, but that was our writing sample. We got hired on The Office. Funny enough, Harold read it, liked it, and hired us to co-write the movie Year One with him.” “When we were first starting off, I think jokes ruled. I’m very proud of that initial pilot, but it has no pathos. It could be animated to a certain extent. It had a lot of similarities to Flight of the Conchords or Arrested Development and less so, The Office.” These days, Eisenberg is best known for writing The Office, Bad Teacher, Hello Ladies, Good Boys, WeCrashed, Little America, and two new series, Jury Duty and Lessons in Chemistry. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep467 - Abe Forsythe, Screenwriter & Creator Peacock’s ‘Wolf Like Me’ Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

The son of an actor, Australian screenwriter Abe Forsythe grew up around creatives. “I spent a lot of time backstage as a kid,” he says. “Sitting in the green room, watching Dad perform. Subconsciously, it made me realize you can have a career following your creative path.” Outside of his immediate influences, Forsythe was influenced by the early work of Peter Jackson, specially a horror film called Bad Taste. “I became obsessed with it. There was something about the fact that he made that movie on his own, shot in New Zealand over four years, playing two roles himself, doing the effects himself.” This self-reliant approach, along with watching other Jackson films like Braindead with an audience, sparked something inside of Forsythe. “Seeing his progression from Bad Taste to Meet the Feebles to Brainddead to Heavenly Creatures, I thought, ‘This guy can do anything.’” “I feel like I’m still chasing how those movies and those experiences made me feel.” In his own work, Forsythe has gained some notoriety for films like Down Under, Little Monsters, and the recent series, Wolf Like Me. “I’m trying to connect to that inner child,” says the screenwriter. Blending the personal within the lanes of genre, the show is about an emotional wreck named Gary who struggles to provide for his wife after the death of his wife. This is when he meets Mary, a woman with a secret she can’t bring herself to tell another being. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep466 - Daniel Willcocks Returns, Horror Author ‘Dream’ & Creator 50K Writing Camp Oct 29, 2023

Show notes

“You get to a point where it hurts more not to make than to make,” says author and writing coach Daniel Willcocks. “I know how I work best.” Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-nominated podcaster of dark fiction. This is our second call, so make sure to also check out Episode 258 for more. In this interview, we talk about getting 11 million downloads, the making of Dream, fascinations with cosmic horror, his 50k writing challenge, creating communities where you serve but also get help, and how to market your work both in terms of fiction and non-fiction. Follow @WillsocksAuthor on Instagram for more info. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep465 - Dennis Paoli, Screenwriter ’Suitable Flesh,’ ‘Re-Animator,’ & ‘Body Snatchers’ Oct 28, 2023

Show notes

“I met Stuart Gordon in high school,” began Dennis Paoli. “We overlapped in several ways. We had the same sense of humor and loved the same movies and books.” This led to sketch comedy in early years, but later in life, the duo focused on horror. In Paoli’s latest film, Suitable Flesh, Joe Lynch leads Heather Graham in the story of a psychiatrist who becomes obsessed with one of her young patients, who she later discovers is linked to an ancient curse. In this interview, we discuss adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s work, how partnerships helped him finish work, telling an adaptation before the title credits, the question of identity in horror, how this script was revived after 20 years, and working with Director Stuart Gordon on Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Body Snatchers. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep464 - George Olson, Creator SyFy’s ’Surreal Estate’ Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

“I spent most of my career in advertising,” says George Olson. “I had always wanted to write for movies and television, but I live in Colorado, not exactly the screenwriting mecca of North America, so I started reading scripts, screenplays, and just started writing.” As a former copywriter and creative director, Olson his start really came from “writing bad screenplays.” He continues, “That’s the only way to eventually write good screenplays.” He read all of the big books on the subject and many interviews from Creative Screenwriting as a foundation. “I started entering some competitions and I won a couple of screenwriting contests. There was just enough encouragement. It’s like playing golf. You can hit terrible shots the whole day, then hit one beautiful shot, and then you love the game.” Thanks to these early wins, Olson was on a path to meet producers and pitch ideas. He eventually developed a project with Barry Sonnenfield (Men in Black) and John Turturro (The Big Lebowski). “For an advertising writer in Colorado, it was fairly heady stuff.” One particular idea gained some traction, but Olson’s reps told him to transition it to a television idea. “I read every pilot I could get my hands on, starting writing television, and found that I loved it.” The screenwriter is best known for creating the series, Surreal Estate, a series about Real Estate agents who deal with haunted houses. Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Ep463 - Anna Zlokovic, Writer-Director Hulu’s ‘Appendage’ Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

“I always had a camera growing up. I know that’s cheesy, but I didn’t know it could be a job,” says writer-director Anna Zlokovic. “I didn’t know what to do with that interest. No one in my family did film. No one I knew did film, so I ended up going to music school to study music-business.” While at USC, Zlokovic realized it wasn’t a fit. Across the street from music, she found Film School. She took a few classes and made a movie, but thought she might get into sound. Eventually, feeling out multiple jobs led her to writing and directing. “I got some feedback from my first project, but at the time, I was cripplingly shy. Directing and writing gave me permission to have a voice and share my perspective. I’m still trying to do it ten years later,” she jokes. The goal wasn’t always horror, as she didn’t grow up watching horror films, but she did have any interest in monster films. “My parents had a box of movies. I watched E.T. and Jurassic Park over and over and over again. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Then I watched Eraserhead in college and thought, cinema can do this?” In Appendage, "A young fashion designer's life spirals as her darkest inner thoughts manifest into something gruesome- that won't stop growing.” Zlokovic said she saw some crossover with E.T. in her latest project. “Horror somewhat came as an accident,” she clarifies. “The first movie I made came from a very dark place, where I was trying to have a cathartic experience through my art. It was sad and dark, but people [liked it], so that sort of naturally led into horror.” Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

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