Creative Principles

“Writing is always something I did for my own delight and enjoyment,” said Kate Holland. “I would have these stories playing in my head, a scenario or a world, maybe mentally writing episodes of favorite TV shows.” This led Kate to some writing partnerships in the world of theater. “Then I met Marlowe in a writer’s group online. He and I hit it off right away.”

“I’ve just gotten started,” said Marlow Mitchell. “I’ve been writing since I was able to writing, writing stories. I grew up in Denmark and when I was 15, I won a writing competition. That was a first since I might be quite good at it, because the competition was for adults. That was good for my ego,” joked Marlowe.

The screenwriters met online during the pandemic. “During that, I got involved in this project about interviewing transmasculine people about football. I’ve done 20 interviews and an event around it. Right now, I’m editing the interviews in a long-form version.”

Marlowe describes this project and their partnership as “circling the type of writing I want to do.” Their latest project is a feature called Offsiders, a trans-centered soccer rom-com that won first place in the ISA Fellowship Track. “There’s a toxic environment around trans people in sport,” said Marlowe. “I’m transmasculine and I’ve played football in the past.”

“Marlowe is just one of the most thoughtful people I’ve met,” said Kate. “I think there are many ways we are similar, but I think we both have fairly esoteric interests, but then we kind of come into pop culture and interact with it through neurodiverse and queer lenses. We’re looking at tropes to find the larger story we a tell or how we can deepen the human connection.”

Learn more or enter an upcoming contest here: www.networkisa.org/

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!

“I’ve always loved reading, so it started more with books than movies,” said screenwriter Ariane Hahusseau. “That’s how I developed a passion for stories. While in college, I watched a lot of BBC shows. Adaptations of my favorite novels. Coming from a literature background, I realized I could adapt my favorite novels, but also write my own stories.”

Ariane, a French expatriate, embarked on her academic journey in the realms of literature, initially in Paris and later in London. She culminated her educational pursuits by obtaining an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute Conservatory. Her love for art and history serves as the guiding force behind her screenplays, which invariably spotlight determined female protagonists battling societal injustices to reclaim their voices. 

“It’s the stories that I feel comfortable in,” she said of the novel adaptations on BBC. “Being a big fan of Jane Austen and stories about women, I developed an interest in talking about the female condition. In screenwriting, they tell you to put as many obstacles in front of your character as you can. Putting them in the 18th Century seems like the perfect setting for a maximum of obstacles for women. Women had so much more to overcome.”

This love led to themes in her own work, such as fighting against that which restricts your freedom. “These are themes I love to gravitate around. I’m very interested in what it means to be an artist, like the creation process. How does it spurt out of you? Or is it a genius element of your personality? Or just a lot of work? I love observing the rise and fall of the artist. How they’re rejected or accepted by society.”

Writing female characters, she adds, raises the stakes even more in terms of  acceptance or rejection. Then, of course, the added dilemma of motherhood rises to the surface. “Women are sort of conflicted between two motherhoods: the motherhood of their work as artists and then having children of their own. How do you reconcile those two aspects? That comes back over and over in my writing.”

Learn more or enter an upcoming contest here: https://www.networkisa.org/

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!

"I think it's very important that the film demonstrated that it was an effort not done by one individual who started working as a farm worker and became an astronaut, but rather it was an effort of a family, of community, and the importance of having that support structure. That's what allowed me to flourish," says José Hernández.

A Million Miles Away is directed by award-winning filmmaker Alejandra Márquez Abella (Northern Skies Over Empty Space, The Good Girls) and starring Michael Peña ("Narcos: Mexico," End of Watch, Crash).

The film is based on the inspirational true story of José Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to become an astronaut and go to space. From his humble beginnings in Michoacán, Mexico, to working in the crop fields alongside his family in California, to being selected for astronaut training by NASA (after being turned down 11 times!).

"I like to think that this is a film about Earth," says Alejandra Márquez Abella. "I didn't want to get too confused by the space thing. I wanted to focus on the earth, on the trainings, on the effort that this man had to go through to get up there."

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!

Alex Mandel began his career as a composer at Pixar by providing the score for the Ratatouille DVD short "Your Friend the Rat" and was later selected by Pixar creatives to write two songs for Brave: "Touch the Sky" and "Into the Open Air" - which became global hits.

His work spans across film (East Side Sushi); streaming (Super Giant Robot Brothers); and radio (NPR's Snap Judgment LIVE, where he performed with The Roots' MC Black Thought).

Recently, he composed the score for The Inventor in addition to nine songs for the film performed by voice cast members Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry, and Stephen Fry.

The imaginative and family-friendly feature about the life of Leonardo da Vinci is written and directed by Oscar® nominee Jim Capobianco (screenwriter of Ratatouille) and co-directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon.

For theater info and tickets, go to: https://www.bluefoxentertainment.com/films/the-inventor

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!

Paul Fairweather is a Brisbane-based, speaker, author, mentor, architect, and artist who believes we are makers at heart, and who is on a mission to get people to reconnect with their creative essence, and to clarify that artistry is not creativity, only a subset.

Chris Meredith is a Sydney-based, business coach, innovation consultant, and award-winning photo artist, who utilizes this background to help people create, capture, and communicate great ideas, particularly through the art of storytelling.

Together they created The Common Creative, a podcast all about bringing creativity back into everyday life, understanding the essence of creativity, and making creativity as common as a loaf of bread, and as well understood as common language.

To listen to it, go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-creative/id1525162918

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!

Jason Hellerman is an award-winning film and TV writer. His feature screenplay, Shovel Buddies, made the top ten of the annual Black List and was purchased and produced by AwesomenessTV. Since then, he's completed feature film and television work for a variety of producers and directors.

Currently, he's writing an action comedy for Sylvester Stallone's production company called My Masterpiece, which is set to star Academy Award-nominated actress Maria Bakalova. His latest spec, Himbo, appeared on the 2022 Black List.

For more of his work, go to: https://nofilmschool.com/u/jasonhellerman

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!

Sue Ellen Thompson’s poems have been read more than a dozen times on National Public Radio by Garrison Keillor, have been featured in U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s nationally syndicated newspaper column, and have received numerous awards, including the 1986 Samuel French Morse Prize, the 2003 Pablo Neruda Prize, and two Individual Artist’s Grants from the State of Connecticut.

She is the author of six books, her most recent one being 'Sea Nettles: New & Selected Poems' where she explores relationships between people of three generations as they evolve over decades.

Currently, she also teaches at The Writers’ Center in Bethesda where she mentors adult poets. To learn more about her and her workshops, go to https://sueellenthompson.com/

In this interview, Thompson and I talk about writing poetry as a teenager, why she quit her editorial job to pursue her passion, working as a freelancer, tips for writers, her workshops, her poems, and how her students encourage her.

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 moved to New York fifteen years ago. Didn’t really have much interest in drawing at that time—vaguely interested, but when I found Threadless, this whole community of artists on the internet who help each other and bounce ideas off each other, and it was a way to make money,” says Nathan Pyle.

In many of the episodes in Dan Harmon’s show Community, the character Abed is actually wearing a graphic tee from Threadless, a Chicago-based design company who crowdsource unique graphic tee shirt ideas. At the time, the company paid about $2,500 for beloved designs.

“It took me a long time. I think I did 100 submissions, at least, before I got my first license. Before anyone purchased anything. But, in those 100 submissions, I was learning a lot, I was making friends. That was me creating, doing something at night, while I worked another job in the day.”

Over time, Pyle learned more and more about designing. Eventually, this hobby helped pay about 20 percent of his income. Eventually, it completely took over and in 2021, Pyle teamed up with Dan Harmon to create Strange Planet for Apple 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 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!

Melanie Figg has been writing poetry since college. Since then, her poems, essays, and reviews have been published in more than 70 print and online literary journals.

Her poetry chapbook 'Hurry, Love', was published in standard & fine arts editions, and her full-length collection of poems 'Trace', won the Many Voices Project competition, and Kirkus Reviews not only gave it a prestigious Kirkus-starred review but also named it one of the Best Indie Books of 2020.

She also has received six awards for Excellence in Teaching from The Loft Literary Center, the University of Utah, and the Jerome Foundation, and she currently teaches workshops at The Writer's Center, Hugo House, The Loft Literary Center, as well as at regional book festivals and in private homes in the DC area.

You can learn more about her classes and workshops here: https://www.melaniefigg.net/classes--workshops.html

In this interview, Figgs talks about what inspired her to start writing and creating stories, what makes a good teacher, how she balances her work, finding time to write, how students find her and how she determines who she works with, why she likes being a coach and dealing with people's inner critic and procrastination.

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!

Rich Cohen is a New York Times bestseller writer best known for his books 'The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse', 'The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King' & 'The Adventures of Herbie Cohen'.

His new book, 'When The Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season', will be published on September 5th, by Random House.

In this interview, Cohen talks about what inspired his writing style, why he doesn't stick to one topic, his new book 'When the Game Was War', his writing and editing process, writing about his father, his relationship with his editor, and tips for new writers.

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!