Creative Principles

From an early age, Nic Brown was interested in writing and playing the drums. If you listened to 90s alt rock, you’ve probably heard the song “What I Didn’t Know” from a band called Athenaeum, which Nic helped form while he was just in the 8th grade.

These days, Nic is a professor at Clemson and the author of three novels. That said, somewhat haunted by his previous musical life, he decided to write about it in a new memoir called 'Bang Bang Crash.'

The description reads, “A rock and roll drummer abandons his successful music career to pursue his true passion and discovers a deeper understanding of artistic fulfillment in this episodic memoir of swapping one dream for another.”

In this interview, Nic talks about creativity as a process, focusing on what inspires you creatively, the pros and cons of writing memoir, physically removing yourself to recharge, and how he’s somewhat comes back to the drums.

Read an excerpt called “The Yips” right here: https://oxfordamerican.org/web-only/the-yips-excerpted-from-bang-bang-crash-a-memoir

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 if you’re a writer, you’re just hard-wired to be one,” said author C.J. Box. As a kid, C.J. said he would imagine his name on the shelves of the library as different Librarians gave him more and more difficult books to read.

C.J. Box is the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of more than thirty books, including the iconic Joe Pickett series. His latest book, Storm Watch, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this riveting new novel.

In this interview, C.J. talks about journalism as a training ground for novel writing, getting his first novel published at age 40, how the inverted pyramid is somewhat missing today, working with agents, and how he does research including a potential grizzly bear book.

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!

Watching movies, reading graphic novels, going to DisneyLand… these things made a heavy influence on Chris McKay, the Director of films like Robot Chicken, The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War, and now, Renfield.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Renfield and Nicholas Cage plays Dracula. The description reads, “Renfield, Dracula's henchman. and inmate at the lunatic asylum for decades, longs for a life away from the Count, his various demands, and all of the bloodshed that comes with them.”

In this interview, McKay talks about why animation is like “making a film in slow motion,” why every step in your career is an education, the importance of trusting your gut to the right opportunities, his involvement with Dungeons and Dragons, and when to “jump on the moving train” as a filmmaker.

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!

'One Day as a Lion' stars Frank Grillo, Scott Caan, and J.K. Simmons. The plot reads, “Jackie Powers will stop at nothing to prevent his son from following him into a life of crime. With his mob employer in pursuit, a chance encounter at a roadside diner charts a new path.”

In this interview, John talks about working with Frank Grillo on four films, what enticed him about his script from Scott Cann, how he gets movies made, why directors have to decide how much they’re willing to compromise, and how to shoot big action on an Indie budget.

Listen to our first interview with John Swab on 'Body Brokers' here: https://on.soundcloud.com/wLi7i

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!

Anna Katherine Clemmons has always loved writing. Anna Katherine (Clemmons) Clay is a freelance writer and an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia.

She is a 17-year veteran writer, reporter and producer for ESPN, where she wrote everything from 5,000-word features for ESPN’s Outside the Lines to technical breakdowns for ESPN the Magazine.

In addition to her continued ESPN work, Anna Katherine has written stories for numerous publications, including: The New York Times, Glamour Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Bleacher Report and more.

In this interview, she talks about bringing a different perspective to sports journalism as a woman, how to make people care about sports from a human perspective, avoiding reverse pyramid as a journalist, and how to share your willingness to succeed.

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 was an economics major and I thought I was going to get into investment banking,” says Lee Sung Jin (who also goes by Sonny Lee). “Didn’t feel right at any point of my entire college career,” jokes the screenwriter. “I was really flailing about, unemployed, temping a lot, and I had gotten into the NBC page program.”

If you’ve ever seen 30 Rock, this is somewhat the same job Kenneth the Page had, giving studio tours for $10 an hour. “That was my first glimpse into the entertainment industry. I loved TV and movies, as we all do, and I thought, why not give it a go?”

Lee taught himself screenwriting through reading books and blogs. “I started staying in most weekends. When you find your passion, you can’t help but keep working at it. So, in my early twenties, I discovered this might be a career path.”

Today, Lee has credits on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Outsourced, 2 Broke Girls, Silicon Valley, and Dave. Most recently, he’s the Creator of the Netflix dramedy series, Beef, that stars Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, Maria Bello, Andrew Santino, and David Chow.

The simple plot reads, “Two people let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action.”

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!

“My father’s life was a very visible one,” says writer/director Timothy Scott Bogart, son of 1970s record producer Neil Bogart, the co-founder of Casablanca Records. “That was my playground. I grew up, literally backstage at these concerts.”

Neil Bogart signed such artists as Donna Summer, George Clinton, KISS, the Isley Brothers, the Village People, and Gladys Knight. “The storytelling I saw being done as a child was infectious. Everything that they did was creating something beyond just the music. I just fell in love with it.”

At the age of 12, Timothy’s father died. Perhaps looking for a creative outlet, he actually wrote his first screenplay at this young age. “It was terrible,” he jokes, “but it was 120 pages, it actually had a beginning, middle, and end. I think all of it was an escape. I got lost in the fantasy and loved making little movies and writing little stories.”

Timothy credits “being exposed to that extraordinary visual world [his father] created” as the foundation for what led to his career as a Producer, Screenwriter, and Director. “Almost everything I did had somebody struggling with loss,” he says in hindsight. I kept doing stories about other things, but ultimately, they were about children struggling with the loss of a parent.”

Only a year or two after the death of his father, Timothy recalls people “banging on the door trying to get the rights” to his father’s life story. The family wasn’t ready to share this information. They turned down Broadway musicians, television shows, and movies. “As I started looking at this as being something I wanted to do with my life, I took on the mantle of being responsible of being the guy saying ‘No.’ Part of that was, I didn’t know what it was.”

After decades of pondering what the story could be and how it might be best represented, Timothy decided to take on the responsibility himself, as the writer and director of Spinning Gold, the story of Neil Bogart.

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!

While working at a restaurant in Boston, as somewhat of a chef’s apprentice, Matt Ruskin decided he really wanted to pursue film. Coincidentally, the Manager of the restaurant knew Darren Aronofsky. One phone call later, Ruskin was interning on Requiem for a Dream.

“It was the first movie I ever worked on it,” says Ruskin. “Just to be around such an incredible group of filmmakers and learn from them. After that, I was really bit by the bug and I knew I had to find a way to do this.” Thanks to his willingness to be an apprentice — as a chef and filmmaker — doors opened up for the filmmaker.

“I never sat out to be a screenwriter. I did that by necessity, which is a big part of how things work in the independent film world. You do whatever you have to do to get something made. But, I think running right at the thing you want to do is smart. I wish I did more of that earlier.”

“By spending a year in a kitchen and not in a theoretical environment, I learned pretty quickly what the reality of that business is. I realized I put more pleasure in cooking for four people at home, rather than four hundred at night. But I also try to make people my mentors.”

When it comes to finding mentors, Ruskin says, “If you tell people what you want to do but you know you need to start at the lowest level, they’re willing to give you that opportunity to be around and try and earn that experience.”

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!

Fascinated by Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Tim Roth and a friend auditioned for Dracula Spectacula. Despite being terribly nervous during the first performance, Roth fell in love with the pursuit of acting. “I was utterly terrified and then I loved it,” said the actor.

Known for Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Rob Boy, Lie to Me, and Planet of the Apes, Roth has starred in over 100 films and shows. His latest film, Punch, from writer-director Welby Ings, follows a young man preparing for his first professional fight as he starts to rethink his life after tangling with a gay Maori boy who lives in a shack by the beach.

In this interview, Roth talks about staging a performance in character at an early age, films for love versus films for money, why people forget gentle characters, and what inspired him about the story for Punch.

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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 was not destined to be a writer,” said author Annette Lloyd. She discovered the work of silent film star Harold Lloyd at age 17 and has since written about her “hero” in a multitude of books, including ‘Harold Lloyd - Magic in a Pair of Horn-Rimmed Glasses.’

Part of the description reads, “From birth to death, Harold grew and evolved because of the things that were happening around him, and he was always aware of the importance of those events, the turning points that fashioned the magic: the coin toss that got him to California; meeting a fellow extra at Universal by the name of Hal Roach; creating his revolutionary Glasses Character; a death-defying bomb accident; not allowing his films to be aired on early television; [and] winning his Oscar.”

In this interview, Annette talks about working with James Robert Parish, writing about subjects that consume you, how false truths become published facts (and how to correct this), the backstory behind the Safety Last! stunt, and how being a historian is like being an archeologist.

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!