Lauren Sapala

Lauren Sapala is a writer, writing coach, and blogger. She founded the WriteCity writing groups in San Francisco and Seattle and coaches all levels of intuitive writers. She is also the author of The INFJ Writer and blogs regularly at www.laurensapala.com.

Posts by Lauren Sapala 9 results

Did You Have Overly Critical Parents? Then You Probably Have an Overly Active Inner Critic.

When we talk about the inner critic we usually focus on someone else’s inner critic—we read the article about the successful director that still suffers from self doubt, or we talk to the person in our writing group who just sold a script and they tell us they’re worried that everyone will think they’re a fraud. In cases like these it’s easy to see the inner critic for what it is: A nebulous cloud of doubts and worries that isn’t rooted in reality. But when it comes to our own inner critic, truth and fantasy become much more difficult to separate from each other.

October 10, 2017

3 Secrets of Successful People that Work for Writers Too

Why do some writers produce so much and others flounder and flail time after time? Is there a secret ingredient that makes all the difference between someone with the success of Steve Jobs and the rest of us mere mortals?

April 6, 2017

5 Best Ways to Network for Introvert Writers

When you say the word “networking” to introverts the first thing they tend to do is cringe. Networking brings to mind impersonal business events where salesman-type guys in anonymous suits aggressively pass out their cards and collect as many phone numbers as possible. This couldn’t clash more with the inborn preference of introverts to ...

February 7, 2017

Taking Wisdom from One of Kevin Smith’s Very First Haters

All the writers I know have at least one person in their past who told them they would never make it. In my case, it was a creative writing professor in college. Too often it’s a critical parent who thinks writing isn’t really a career or a disgruntled spouse waiting for the income to start rolling in to relieve financial woes.

January 12, 2017

The 3 Major Ways Screenwriters Self-Sabotage before They Even Sell the Script

Are you self sabotaging your own success as a screenwriter? Here's how to stop doing it and forge a path to that first sale.

December 5, 2016

5 Ways to Fight Overthinking and Submit that Script!

Have you ever hit a wall exactly at the moment when you should be feeling the most accomplished? Welcome to analysis paralysis, otherwise known as overthinking.

October 13, 2016

5 Reasons It’s Time to Stop Hiding and Show Your Writing to the World

The only true way to know if you’ve earned the right to call yourself a “writer” is by doing something that almost every writer overlooks. Owning up to it. And to own your identity as a writer—a real writer—you’ve got to show someone your writing. Here are 5 reasons to start showing your work... now!

September 20, 2016

Who Decides How Old Is “Too Old” for a Screenwriter?

“My biggest fear is that I’m too old, if you want to know the truth,” she said. I was on the phone with a new client, it was our second session together, and we had begun digging into the deep ugly roots of her crippling self doubt and writer’s block. I wasn’t surprised that one of the first monsters to jump out of her closet was the fear of being too old.

July 18, 2016

Want to Be the Next Big Screenwriter? Why You’ve Got to Learn How to Take Creative Risk

One brilliant idea can make or break a screenwriter’s career. But how do you allow yourself to shed the judgement you have in your head and take risks to create something unique and inspiring?

June 24, 2016