It's communal, convivial, funky and all the things a coffee shop should be. Bliss.
The conversational snippets I overhear sometimes interject themselves into the flow of my thoughts, guiding the writing when my characters are in public places. I like to think that it adds a touch of verisimilitude to that sort of scene. When things are proceeding at a more pastoral pace or if the music interferes (sorry, but Scissor Sisters singing Comfortably Numb rarely fits the soundtrack of the books I write) I can tune in to my Pandora channels or NPR or just put the earbuds in to cut the decibel-level.So, my writerly friends: Where do you write? And for my readerly friends: Where do you read what we write? Does the setting have to fit the piece? Is a boisterous atmosphere a distraction or an instigation for better prose? What makes the ideal place for you to partake in the written word?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section! I really want to know.
I write "out",that is, away from home. The first draft of my own novel (now in a substantial rewrite from which I am taking a break to write this comment) was written entirely in the library of a local college while my wife taught a Spanish class there. Right now, I am writing in the library of another college. I have also written in coffee shops, bookstores (in that store's coffee shop), art galleries, and just about anyplace else where someone with a laptop won't look out of place.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I write, or least write the kernels of passages at work. Spending hours placing the works of other authors in their appointed place gives me lots of time to contemplate fictional conversations and descriptions. So I write down these snippets (spending more time than my boss would like, I am sure) and then when I get home I place them into the computer to expand upon later. This late often takes place while waiting in the after school pick up line for my son.
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