Check Out Katie Scrivner’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Scrivner.

Hi Katie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Sure! Thanks for the opportunity to talk about myself—a topic that’s both easy and difficult. I moved to Los Angeles while pregnant, puking the whole way from San Antonio while curled in the back of a moving truck. I had just lost custody of my four-year-old in the surreal circus that is the Texas family court system. But that’s a story for another time.

I was brokenhearted and broke, but I’m ridiculously resourceful and able to stretch pennies like nobody’s business. I found work as a freelance writer any way I could—gig working long before there was a gig economy. The Internet may have been in its infancy, but I could still “post” ads on actual posts.

Determined to be an always-present mom, I edited, script doctored, and ghostwrote other people’s manuscripts so that I could keep working from home. I got really good at helping others write what they wanted to write and say what they were trying to say.

Working with a wide variety of clients—maintaining their flavor and flair while making corrections and improvements—helped me strengthen my skills, develop my style, and gain a clearer sense of my own authentic voice.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, life’s twists and turns are rarely smooth or easy—or even what you think they’re going to be. But the absurdity of life just fuels the dark comedy of my screenwriting.

My career limped along as I raised kids while simultaneously fighting to regain custody of their half-sister and trying to be the best long-distance, non-custodial mother I could be. I became the onsite manager of an apartment building in exchange for rent, which helped me continue working from home, even as a single mom.

But as my children got older, and I was still turning down big opportunities, I had to get really honest with myself about what was holding me back. I started to see that I was using them as an excuse, even though they no longer needed me around all the time: My kids were becoming independent, but I wasn’t.

It took me a long time (and a lot of shameful hiding) before I could admit—and begin to understand—my struggles with dermatillomania, an intense skin-picking compulsion that had become my go-to coping mechanism for anxiety.

Now that support groups and other resources have helped me get dermatillomania under control, my life and career are—in many ways—just getting started.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Clients often send me jumbled piles of words and say, “Work your magic!” Using my patented blend of proofreading and mindreading, I’m able to detangle their thoughts and execute their visions. I may be an unrepentant grammar nerd, but I don’t just fix errors; I provide customized crafting that emphasizes economy of language and clarity of communication while respecting individual style and purpose. I pride myself on being able to “write anything for anyone,” but when I’m left to my own devices, I write TV comedies hell-bent on accessible absurdism.

My favorite job so far was writing for the TV show Food Paradise. I loved creating funny, punny stories full of juicy, delicious wordplay and seeing the results play on TV. Scripting an “unscripted” show was a blast, and I know I’ll love scripting scripted shows even more. (After the strike ends, of course.)

The covid crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Just as I was learning how to get out of my own dermatillomania-imposed quarantine, BOOM, here comes quarantine for everyone! I had been working from home for so many years that by the time the pandemic made it common, I’d had enough! All I wanted was to get out among the other humans, and here we were having our meetings and minglings via screen.

I couldn’t help thinking how I would have welcomed mask-wearing back when I had picked my face to pieces in nervous anticipation of an important meeting, interview, or high-powered Hollywood pitch—when I’d be running late because of trying one more time—no, two more times—no, three—to cover self-inflicted wounds with makeup before leaving.

It’s hard to admit to having been my own worst enemy for so long, but all I can do now is go forward. Through life’s crazy stresses and struggles, I remain a perpetual optimist who sees the world through a comedic lens. I love helping people with their writing, but nowadays my work is more about creating, collaborating, and entertaining.

I hope to inspire others—those struggling with self-defeating behaviors and those afraid it’s “too late” to follow their dreams. Perhaps I’m a bit old to be feeling like I’m just starting out, but I have a lot more writing—probably my best work—still to come!

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/katiescrivner
• Others: https://substack.com/@katiescrivner?utm_source=profile-page

Image Credits
Zoe Sokey Hanna Crowley