Creative Principles

“I started out in the acting world,” says Rebecca Flinn-White. “Acting, directing, theater. And that’s how Zak and I met actually. We were friends in college, didn’t date back then, but we’re married now,” she adds, about her writing partner, Zak White.

Zak adds, “This is the only thing I ever wanted to do. I grew up in a small midwest town. I was a movie fanatic but I didn’t know people actually got paid to do it. I thought you had to be born in a magical world that doesn’t exist.”

The duo both wore many hats until they realized how much they enjoyed the writing, specifically writing together. “Writing is the story creation,” says Zak. “It’s where I feel unbridled creativity.”

“We started working together in college,” says Rebecca. “Zak actually cast me in my first horror movie. I had so much fun doing it and I loved collaborating with him.”

“When we started living together, you just sort of bounce ideas off of each other,” says Zak. “Then there’s a couple things that click. You think, ‘I get this the way you get this, and—“

“Suddenly you’re pregnant,” jokes Rebecca.

“Pregnant with a script,” Zak clarifies.

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 hundreds of interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

‘I didn’t grow up in a place where I was hanging out with screenwriters,” says Melanie Marnich. “I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. I was a voracious reader and I think that sparked something in me, but I didn’t know that that would be a career.”

In college, Marnich was a journalism major with an emphasis in advertising. “I would up doing and loving TV and radio commercials.” She loved the job, but felt limited writing in spurts of 30- or 60-seconds. “Then I got the theater bug.”

Feeling that she had some of the right instincts but wanting a more formal degree, she went back to graduate school to learn the ins and outs of becoming a playwright. “That was the big leap, going from advertising to being a playwright. But again, after a few years, I felt like there was something more to do.”

Following her gut instinct once more, she pursued a career in filmmaking. “Out of the blue, my theater agent sent a play of mine to an agent in LA, who, unbeknownst to me, sent the play to the Showrunner of Big Love.” She went on to write 12 episodes of the hit HBO series.

In addition to Big Love, Marnich has credits for My America, The Big C, Low Winter Sun, The Affair, The OA, The Son, A Murder at the End of the World, and Apples Never Fall. “I think it was an extremely necessary path and the right path for me. I think to say that advertising + theater = TV.”

“I think if I had gone into TV sooner, I don’t think I would have had the tools I needed as a writer to build a career out of it. I think I learned a lot every step of the way and those various versions of storytelling that created in me someone who understood TV and had specific toolkit beneficial for TV.”

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 hundreds of interviews here at Creative Principles.

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!

Michael Jamin has been writing for television since 1996. His many credits include Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Wilfred, Out of Practice, Rules of Engagement, Lopez and Tacoma FD.

He’s also served as Executive Producer/Showrunner on Glenn Martin DDS, Maron, and Rhett & Link’s Buddy System.

In his debut collection of personal essays A Paper Orchestra, Michael recounts the true stories of a sensitive, anxious man searching for the things that are most important: identity, love, forgiveness, and redemption.

In this interview, we talked about how he started his career, his book, the reason behind building a social media following, his thoughts on AI, and much more!

For free screenwriting advice, follow him on social media @michaeljaminwriter

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 of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

“I wanted to be a filmmaker for as long as I can remember,” says Dave Boyle. “I wanted to be a writer-director but after I made my first couple of independent films, I was making more of my living as an editor. I didn’t really start pursuing screenwriting as a professional until I had done a couple of micro-budget films.”

This would include films like Big Dreams Little Tokyo, White on Rice, Surrogate Valentine, Daylight Savings, and Man From Reno. “That’s when I became passionate about writing as the end result. I think it was always a passion of mine, but from the beginning, I had this sort of omnivorous jack-of-all-trades approach until those things melted away.”

This renaissance approach eventually led Boyle to the new Netflix series, House of Ninjas. The story follows The Tawara family, the last shinobi clan. The description reads, “It had abandoned its roots after an incident in the past, but now the family must take on the greatest crisis in Japanese history, one that threatens to shake the nation to its core.”

“As I started focusing more on writing, I wrote my couple of spec scripts and finished Man from Reno, that’s when I started getting more jobs as a screenwriter. The passion was always there but it wasn’t the focus of my career for a long time.”

Being an editor and director also shaped his writing. “You end up in trouble in editing because you realize if you had done this and this while writing, I wouldn’t be in this pickle right now. It definitely taught me a lot about structure. I was making some arrogant mistakes that I thought I could get through directing and editing.”

This three-prong approach also changed the perspective of what he liked to write. “Eventually I realized the stuff that I was addicted to reading was the stuff I should be writing. Initially, I saw myself as a slice of life [screenwriter] for human dramas, but in everyday life, I love thrillers and detective stories. Genre, that’s my true passion and that’s what I should be writing, instead of fitting a square peg into a round hole.”

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.

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!

Dori Zavala is an award-winning attorney and filmmaker with over 23 years of experience in the legal, business, and finance fields.

She's the founder and CEO of Open For Show Business, a revolutionary consulting practice that provides high-level strategic consulting to filmmakers to guide them in the business, legal, and financing aspects of funding and distributing their films.

In this interview, we talked about her work as an entertainment lawyer, how being a producer has helped her writing process, her current project 'Pharma', how to get investors and more!

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 of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Chad Feehan’s parents took him to the movies nearly every single weekend. “They didn’t have much of a filter,” he joked about seeing heavy movies at a young age. “In my early teens, Tarantino exploded with Reservoir Dogs and Robert Rodriguez exploded with El Mariachi. I saw that not only did people get paid to make movies, but they could come from Texas.”

As a screenwriter, he’s known for Paranormal Activity 4, Southland, Rectify, Banshee Origins, Banshee, Ray Donovan and Lawmen: Bass Reeves where he’s also the creator. The recent story follows, “Legendary lawman Bass Reeves, one of the greatest frontier heroes and one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River.”

In this interview, Feehan talks about low budget single setting films, going to AFI as a producer with Sam Esmail, getting discovered on the Blacklist, early mentors in the business, understanding the vernacular of Texas, and how shows from people like Taylor Sheridan are tapping into unmet needs for a hopeful, optimistic audience.

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.

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!

Rising Nashville pop artist and songwriter, Kyndal Inskeep, has been writing and performing since childhood.

Her career took off after releasing her debut viral single “Honest” with Song House. It quickly accumulated millions of streams and inspired masses. Her second single, “Parachute” initiated the same response.

Currently, Kyndal remains an independent artist with the desire to make music that inspires others to feel something again.

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 of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

“My family had a dude ranch in Colorado,” says Mark L. Smith, as to why he didn’t really starting writing scripts until his 30s. “It was 2,000 acres surrounded by a quarter million acres of natural forest. We were literally in the middle of nowhere.”

“Our driveway was a 2.5 mile road that was an old stagecoach trail, through a canyon. It was a resort and we were open in the summers, but we would shut down early fall. I found I had nothing to do during those five months in the snow, so I would write.”

In those early days, he wrote stories for his children and submitted a few ideas for children’s books. Then he took a stab at writing screenplays, did a few workshops in Los Angeles, and then starting to write specs, one after the other. “I just kept going, found my way through it, then got really lucky.”

Smith’s early films were in the horror genre, movies like Seance, Vacancy, and Vacancy 2: The First Cut. Then, in 2015, he hit global success with The Revenant, followed by Overlord, The Midnight Sky, The Marsh King’s Daughter, and The Boys in the Boat. Upcoming projects include Twisters and a new series called American Primeval.

“I would option and sell drama. That’s where I learned to begin with but I couldn’t get anything made. The horror stuff was popping so I tried that. I wrote a couple of those and it became my thing, but it wasn’t what I had intended. I think I wrote The Revenant in 2007, so that’s when people noticed I could do more than 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.

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!

Amber Williams is a Screenwriter, Podcaster, Founder, and Creative Director of Whirleybird Productions.

On her podcast 'The Film Finance and Distribution Podcast,' she deep dives into the business backbone of the cinematic world; engaging in insightful conversations with accomplished filmmakers, seasoned entertainment lawyers, and pivotal industry insiders.

Her goal is to demystify the complex realms of film finance and distribution, equipping the next generation of filmmakers, producers, and cinema enthusiasts with knowledge about success stories, safe working practices, script acquisition, start-ups, and more.

To listen to her podcast, go to: https://www.whirleybirdproductions.com/podcasts

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 of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Diego Vicentini is a Venezuelan writer and film director who has made several award-winning short films, including 'Simón', the predecessor to the feature, which had an independent world tour, selling out screenings in eight countries in eleven different cities.

His first feature film also titled 'Simón', follows a Venezuelan freedom fighter exiled in Miami, who copes not only with trauma, but also deep guilt over a choice he must make: stay in Miami and start a new life, or return home to the losing fight against a tyrannical regime.

In this interview, we talk about how studying philosophy led him to filmmaking; balancing long dialogues with action, movement, and reactions; editing versus starting from zero; balancing the expectations from different audiences, writing from a place of authenticity; and much more.

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!