Writing in Coffee Shops
@belindayhughes (1096)
United States
February 15, 2013 10:35pm CST
Coffee Shops are classic sites for writers to carry on their trade. You can get food and drink, meet with fellow writers and others and get books and magazines. Depending on which coffee house you choose, you might also enjoy free wifi and promote your works. Starbucks stores usually offer free wifi, central locations, an endless variety of coffee offerings, snacks and a few sandwiches. Joe Muggs, inside BooksaMillion stores, offers wifi as part of their annual membership card fee. Writers in my hometown like to meet there for write-ins during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, aka November). In addition, they offer readings and book signings. Another writer-friendly coffee shop in my hometown is Stellar Beans, aka The Bean, in the Historic Downtown area. The Bean has an Open Mic Poetry Night, local art on the walls and tables and fair trade organic coffee and snacks and meals cooked to order for special diets, such as sugar free, gluten free and vegan. They also have free wifi. I also like to write in 24 hour coffee shops. They may not have free wifi or writing events, and their benches are not the most comfortable, but if you're looking for characters, they've got plenty. From the servers, cooks and managers to the patrons, you'll find the most amazing personal stories and fantastic people watching. For best results, go between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. That's when the most colorful characters come in to roost a bit. In coffee houses, I have chanced to meet Elvis, Jesus, strippers, active and recovering addicts and witches, among others. Remember, if you engage in a conversation with them, be mindful that these are people who have been through the ups and downs of life, so be kind. J.K. Rowling wrote her award-winning Harry Potter novels on napkins in coffee shops before transcribing to notebooks. I share her affinity for writing on paper napkins in cafes. I don't know what it is about them, but they are part of the coffee house writing mystique, I suppose. Often cafes also have large glass windows, the better for writers to watch life go by outside. I highly recommend coffee shops as an ideal environment in which to write.
2 people like this
5 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
16 Feb 13
I used to go to a cafe after work to get a cup of coffee each night. I used to see a man there everytime. He was about 45 years old. he told me he was writing a book there. And that he could think and write better there. Hed just watch the people come and go for hours. I wonder when I moved back to usa, and go to that rest. if hes still around. He may have a book out now. Never know..
2 people like this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
16 Feb 13
Hey maria, thanks for your wonderful response. You never know, he just might! When I have worked in cafes as a server, I would sneak in a few notes on a napkin on my serving tray while waiting for orders to come up in the window. I never let it get in the way of serving the food, but one of my managers was none too fond of that practice.
@Kate34 (656)
• France
22 Feb 13
I never really wrote in a coffee shop. I haven't been writing for long though so I might one day but I don't think it would be something I would take to and like doing. I find writing a very private thing, yes I love sharing my work online but I hate being there when someone is reading my work, I somehow find it embarrassing. I would probably find writing in a cafe very distracting as there is a lot of hustle and bustle and noise. Although I did dream about going into a cafe or a public place and sitting and watching someone and making up a story about them, them being the main character and describing like they are in the flesh. Then I would start making up different characteristics about them that you can't see at first glance just by looking at them, characteristics that you would only see if you were good friends with the person. Alas I think that will only be dream for me.
I also love NaNoWriMo. I only did it one and I got 43,000 words but I was quite proud and will try again next year, I might even do the camp one. I would really like to go into a write in for it but where I lived there was none and I couldn't really speak the language of the area.
1 person likes this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
22 Feb 13
Heya Kate. I understand completely about the hustle and bustle being too much for you trying to write in coffeeshops, but the people-watching for character development being just right. Writing in different places for different reasons is every writer's prerogative, it's what fits that writer at any given moment for any reason or no discernible reason at all. You've done better than I have with NaNoWriMo. Best of luck with all your projects. Looking forward to a continued writing friendship with you.
@Kate34 (656)
• France
23 Feb 13
I don't think I would be into that story watching someone else. It's sounds interesting but in reality once I get there I will probably find it boring and after a hot chocolate or something go home with no more words just a rotten experience. I don't believe it matters what environment you write in as long as it works for you, that's all that matters.
1 person likes this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
23 Feb 13
That's true, Kate, whether writing in coffeeshops or wherever, it all comes down to what works best for you as the writer.
@wolfie34 (26770)
• United Kingdom
6 Mar 13
Ah you were voicing what I was thinking, exactly about J.K. Rowling and her penning Harry Potter in the coffee shop. I couldn't write anything in a coffee shop, the noise would be too distracting for me. When I used to write I'd need full concentration, music was ok, I'd have my headphones on, but if people were talking around me I couldn't write a thing. I always wrote my novels in pen and never used a computer and the internet wasn't around back then. I so much prefer to write on pen and paper, it's not the same when you are typing it.
1 person likes this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
6 Mar 13
Hey there, wolfs! It might be safe to say that for as long as coffee shops, coffee houses and cafes have existed, writers have put down their thoughts at their tables. Clearly, not all writers can work in this environment. You're not alone in finding all the hubbub counterproductive. When folks get off work, they are very distracting to me, too. So when I feel like writing in coffee shops, I try to pick hours outside of 5p-9p. When the bars close, coffee shop patrons and their antics become rather interesting, so that's a good time for me to be writing in coffee shops, if I'm awake.
@joliefille (3690)
• Philippines
16 Feb 13
Yes, for me it is an ideal environment to write. At home it's so noisy because of the tele. It's just a small apartment actually so the noise can be heard wherever part of the room I try to write.
1 person likes this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
16 Feb 13
Hello, joliefille, nice of you to drop in. I agree. When I've lived with family, roommates or in small apartments, the spaciousness of coffee shops has always been appealing as a writing space.
@ARIES1973 (11944)
• Legaspi, Philippines
16 Feb 13
I write anywhere whenever I have time. Even at the vehicles while waiting for other passengers to arrive. But I never really did try or write in coffee shops. Perhaps I should try one of these days. Hopefully I could find a good coffee shops around.
But this can be a good business idea, if I would be starting a business, this will be one of my projects.
Have a nice day!
1 person likes this
@ARIES1973 (11944)
• Legaspi, Philippines
16 Feb 13
I think I should thank you more for sharing this valuable information with us, with me especially as this is something that I should try. Actually, there are some place in our area which have wifi connection. Food court and fast foods for that matter. But when I tried to go those places, there are lots of students who are just so noisy so I cannot concentrate on what I am doing. But I never thougth that a coffee shop can be a good place also.
So if I write on those place and if there are also other writers who are doing the same, I can already consider myself as a real writer, he he.
Have a nice day!
1 person likes this
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
16 Feb 13
Thank you, ARIES, for the lovely compliment! I'm just sharing what I know from my experiences of writing in coffee shops. If it helps other writers, I am very glad.
@belindayhughes (1096)
• United States
16 Feb 13
Hello, ARIES, my friend! Thank you for contributing to this dicussion on writing in coffee shops. Coffee shops are very conducive environments for some writers. If you live in the United States, it's possible that you might be able to write off any coffee shop expenses if it was part of your professional writing practice. If you meet interview subjects, colleagues and clients there and buy them a beverage, snack or meal, that would be considered a cost of doing business, provided you made enough revenue to write it off against. You'd have to check the IRS forms and consult a CPA to learn all the specifics, but it's a great idea to do your writing in coffee shops.
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