Lauren Sapala

Category: Introverts, INFJs, and INFPs

  • Are You a Writer Who Can’t Finish Anything? The 3 Surprising Reasons You Abandon Projects.

    Are You a Writer Who Can’t Finish Anything? The 3 Surprising Reasons You Abandon Projects.

    As a writing coach who has worked with hundreds of writers over the past decade, I’ve found that most of the writers who come to me have the same types of problems, and one of the biggest struggles they deal with is finishing anything.

    This type of writer always tells me the same thing:

    “I get really excited in the beginning of the project, and then the excitement dies.”

    “I was off to a strong start and wrote a lot, but now I have no idea where the story is going and it feels like a chore to figure it out.”

    I feel a deep sense of shame about the fact that I haven’t finished anything. This must mean I’m not a real writer, or not a very good writer.”

    This type of writer also tends to feel isolated and alone in their struggle. They constantly compare themselves to other writers who seem to be thriving, creating, and most importantly, producing.

    I love it when I get a new client like this, because I immediately know where to start. And once I reveal what’s really going on, the writer experiences this immense feeling of relief. They finally understand that they are NOT wrong as a writer. They are just using the wrong type of writing method for them. (more…)

  • Too Scared to Call Yourself a Writer? This Is How You Get Over It.

    Too Scared to Call Yourself a Writer? This Is How You Get Over It.

    If you’re a writer who struggles with writing, then you know that one of the biggest challenges you face is calling yourself a writer. Writers who suffer from severe procrastination, fear and self-doubt, or who are just in a place in life where the writing is not really happening, run into this obstacle all the time.

    You know you’re a writer deep within your soul. You know that writing does something for you that nothing else can, and when you do actually sit down and write, or finish something, you feel fantastic. But it’s the sitting down and doing it that is such a problem for you.

    If this is you, then you know that feeling of imposter syndrome. That fear that you’re nothing but a fraud, because you want to say you’re a writer—you know that you ARE a writer—but it feels like you can’t back that up with anything if you’re not actually writing.

    This was me, many years ago. There was nothing I wanted more in the world than to write, but I just couldn’t do it. And then I found the key that changed everything for me, AND that got me through writing my very first book, start to finish. (more…)

  • The Single Worst Thing Any Writer Could Do (If You’re Serious About Success)

    The Single Worst Thing Any Writer Could Do (If You’re Serious About Success)

    In my last article, The 3 Biggest Self-Sabotage Traps for Writers, I talked about some of the most damaging mindsets for writers, and how when we adopt these mindsets and use them as “writing goals” we always end up defeated in the end. However, there is another, much worse, approach that writers can take in the attempt to become a successful writer.

    And sadly, I see writers do it all the time.

    It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginning writer, or have been writing for many years, if you do this one thing, your writing life is sure to fail. You will feel blocked, empty, stuck, and hopeless about your writing. The one thing—that’s the worst thing you could do—is this: (more…)

  • The 3 Biggest Self-Sabotage Traps for Writers

    The 3 Biggest Self-Sabotage Traps for Writers

    In my last article, Still Putting Off Your Writing Dreams? How to Stop Self-Sabotaging and Start Writing, I talked about how common it is for writers to self-sabotage themselves. What I’ve discovered after working with hundreds of writers over the past decade as a writing coach is that self-sabotage usually takes a very specific form with creative people.

    There are 3 self-sabotage traps I see writers fall into all the time, and what makes it so difficult to get out of these traps is that, on the surface, they seem logical. Each trap is a belief or statement that the writer makes to themselves, or a goal they set for their writing, that seems like it will move them forward. However, each trap does the complete opposite and only blocks the writer from making any progress at all. (more…)

  • Still Putting Off Your Writing Dreams? How to Stop Self-Sabotaging and Start Writing.

    Still Putting Off Your Writing Dreams? How to Stop Self-Sabotaging and Start Writing.

    Birthdays can be hard for many people, but they’re usually hardest on writers. Why? Because a birthday is a personal milestone that indicates another year has passed in your life—you’re one year closer to leaving this earth—and you still haven’t accomplished your writing dreams.

    Maybe your writing dream is to finish your novel, or to write a self-help book based on your own life experiences that you know could really help people. Maybe you just want to finish a story—any story—because even though you’ve had a million ideas, you’ve never finished anything. So, when the day of your birthday rolls around, yet again, it only causes you pain, because it highlights just exactly how far away you still are from ever achieving these dreams. (more…)