How do we protect our creativity in a world designed to steal our attention?
I’m talking with Steven Puri, former DreamWorks and Fox film executive, tech entrepreneur, and founder of SUKHA, about the psychology of flow states and what they can teach us about focus, creativity, and writing truly original stories.
We explore what happens when you become so immersed in your work that time disappears, how music, rain, smell, and nostalgia can help you find your creative groove, and why protecting your attention is essential to doing your best work.
Then we get into horror and screenwriting. After years in the film industry, Steven has seen what separates competent writing from the kind that makes you think, I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.
We discuss why the best writers understand people rather than simply copying genre conventions, how flow can help creators move beyond predictable ideas, and what AI means for the future of original storytelling.
Plus, we talk about distraction, digital overwhelm, ADHD, creative community, and why taking back our attention may be one of the most important things we can do to preserve what makes us human.
If you’re a writer, filmmaker, horror fan, or creative person trying to do meaningful work in an increasingly distracted world, 🎧 listen now, and discover how going deeper might be the key to creating something new and fighting LLMs coming for our art.
And if this episode helps you want to understand horror a little differently, I've made a guide specifically for you. It's called So You Like Horror… Now What? and it walks you through how to watch horror through the lens of psychology, culture and storytelling. It includes a horror glossary of common horror scholarship terms and a beginners list of horror movies to start your scholarly journey. You can grab it at https://payhip.com/b/VdMNb.
Check out SUKHA: https://www.thesukha.co/
📕So You Like Horror Now What: A Guide to Understanding Horror, Monsters, and Yourself: https://payhip.com/b/VdMNb
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🖤Full show notes at patreon.com/spookyscholars