by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Writing at home is difficult sometimes.
I do much of my writing at home, most of it before 5:30 a.m. But I’ve been trying to write a little extra each day for the past week or so (inspired by the intrepid NaNoWriMoers).
The problem is that my house can become pretty distracting during the day—likely one reason why I write so early in the morning. The week before the election was especially annoying with the automated phone calls. Then there’s the dryer buzzer, the cat who likes to sit on my keyboard, the housework that needs to be done…
So Wednesday, after dropping off a carpool at the middle school, I set off for the coffee shop. The library was still closed and I needed extra coffee anyway.
I haven’t been in Starbucks for a while, and felt that I’d accidentally stepped into another dimension. It seemed to be populated by young women named Dakota and striking men wearing sunglasses indoors. Unfortunately, I was wearing carpool couture and putting on makeup hadn’t crossed my mind. I just ordered my small coffee, dark roast (they managed to translate that order into Starbuck language) and settled down at a small table with my story.
I didn’t have my laptop with me so I pulled out a battered composition notebook that still had Math and my daughter’s name written on it (and many perfectly-good blank pages in it.)
And I wrote a good 1000 words there in about 30 minutes.
There are definitely different types of coffeehouse visits. To me, they fall in two groups—the visits where the writer is looking for characters and inspiration, and the visits where the writer needs to get some writing done, stat.
I used to fall more in the prior camp, but lately, the only times I find myself at the coffee shop is when I’m frantically trying to meet a deadline or two.
What helps if you’re trying to get work done at coffee shops:
Notebook—I do prefer to write in a notebook when I’m writing away from home. It’s just easier to manage and I don’t worry about sloshing coffee on my computer. And I don’t feel particularly conspicuous.
Several pencils—I haven’t gotten to the point where I want to write in pen.
Music and headphones—I’d forgotten how loud the coffee shop could be. Fortunately, I had earbuds in my pocketbook…and my phone, which has Pandora on it. I have a station for New Age music and I plugged into it. (Might want to make sure your data plan supports music streaming if you do this through your phone. But Pandora has saved me several times when I was writing in the carpool line and someone was having a noisy cellphone conversation in the next car.)
Having your manuscript or outline on the cloud—I’ve found it handy to be able to refer to my story or an outline when I’m away from home. You can upload your manuscript/outline to a place like Google Docs where you can access it from anywhere, using your laptop or smart phone. (It’s free…you only need a gmail address to use it.) Or you can access story planning software on your phone/laptop…like Mike Fleming’s Hiveword.
The rules I follow for writing in a coffee shop:
Watch the time—I try to make sure I’m not monopolizing a table for too long, unless the place is totally dead. This also has the benefit of providing me with a deadline of sorts and I write quicker.
Put my back to the room—If I’m doing deadline-writing and not finding-characters-writing, then I sit where I can’t see people and just focus on my notebook.
Purchase regularly—If the coffee shop is very quiet and I stay a little longer…I make sure I keep buying things so I don’t wear out my welcome. A coffee here, a pastry here.
Avoid connecting to the internet or using your smart phone…except when referring to your manuscript or outline on the cloud—I’m trying to avoid distractions by writing in a coffeehouse. And the internet is the biggest distraction of all.
Other posts on the topic:
Coffee Shop Etiquette by Bluestocking on the Bluestocking Blog.
10 Reasons Why Working at the Library is Better than the Coffee Shop—by April Borbon on Freelance Switch
That Jerk? C’est Moi –Malcolm Gladwell for Wall Street Journal
There are other places where I’ll write…the library, the diner, the park. Leaving home can definitely help me hit a word count goal.
Do you ever have to escape your house to be able to write? Where do you go?
Elizabeth – I’m so glad you had a good experience doing your coffee-shop writing. I’ve done that sort of think myself, and I think it can give one’s creativity a nice jolt. Just writing in a different place, with a different ambiance helps. I like your idea of using headphones; I need to do that, as it can pull one away from one’s work to hear conversation and other background noise. Oh, and I know just what you mean by finding it quietest to write early in the morning…
I’ve tried writing outside of the home, but haven’t had much luck. I seem to need quiet and since I don’t have children at home and hubby still works, I get that at home.
Karen
I do my work in fast food restaurants. (Got in the habit as a student decades ago, when they started offering free refills on pop.)
I usually bring my ancient netbook,but I also work in steno books, and usually have a couple with me. I also carry some 5×8 cards to sketch on in case I have art ideas I need to work on.
I use my iPod Touch to time the visit, and for calendar references. I use my Kindle as a reference/reading copy of hte MS. And then my cell is a separate thing…. So I am sometimes surrounded by ancient technology as I work, with a pencil on paper.
I’ll go to coffeeshops, but usually as a mood booster. (I have a hormone disorder, and I’m highly allergic to grass, which makes it hard to get sun exposure.)
I recently tried the library for the first time, too, and thanks for reminding me that I wanted to try that again. Maybe I’ll go today; I do have a lot of work to get done. (I work from home.) :)
I think I’d have to hit a coffee shop if I were writing during the day, too. And like you, when I’m not at home on my computer, a notebook is easier than a laptop. I don’t have the gadgets though (the smart phone to make sure my plot is on track. Instead, each book I write gets a section of notebook and the pocket folder in the front has my notes/timeline. I also try to print off my last few pages, so I know where I am.
Somehow I am pretty good at turning off the world around me, so no matter how busy, I can just focus. I would be more distracted by music I was playing, I think.
I homeschool my children, so writing outside of the home is not something I can do very often. However, on Sundays and Tuesdays, my sons have Hebrew School for a few hours, and I do try to take advantage of that bit of time to get some writing in. I commute on a train, so I can’t lug a laptop with me, but I do bring my notebook and pen. And yes, it’s amazing how much writing you can get done in a short period of time when that’s all you came to do; I usually have a little less than an hour and I can get about 3 to 5 pages written during that time.
Funny about the sunglasses indoors. The people in the Starbucks near me are much swankier :-)
I can do rough-out work in a coffee shop in a notebook in pen (ink helps where the lighting is poor – contrast). The 30/50 point outline of where to move a plot is always good.
However, the real work of writing has to come in isolation or at least a more focused environment. I’ve written in a coffee shop and the output is crap. I’m not as focused as Hart is (above). I’d like to be;but, I’m not.
I like John Scalzi’s _You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop_. The worst thing that can happen when you are writing in a coffee shop is for someone to ask “what are you writing about?” Luckily, I don’t look friendly or engaging when I am out and about. Thank-you NYC.
Margot–I still block out people pretty well when I’m writing, but sometimes the sounds of the coffee grinders, loud conversations, etc. can mess me up. Headphones are very handy. And, not to sound anti-social, but no one tries to talk with you when you’re writing and you have headphones on. :)
Carradee–Oh, that sounds like it would be really tough to deal with! Yes, I bet that going to the coffee shop can be a good way to keep your spirits up.
The library can be very, very good for writing at. Nobody cares if you stay there all day. They *do* have wi-fi (this can be a good thing or a bad thing.) Sometimes I have to plug up with the headphones, though, depending on how noisy our library is (and it’s pretty noisy usually. But I do love it there.)
Karen–It’s nice that you have your own quiet oasis at home!
Hart–I think not having the gadgets means that you’re less likely to get distracted!
This is why it has to be very *boring* music. :) I can only listen to non-obtrusive New Age or Jazz instrumentals or things like that. Stuff that’s unremarkable, especially. If I find myself *listening* to the music, then I have to give that song a thumbs-down on Pandora (ha!)
Deb–Yes, I’m with you–sometimes those laptops are more trouble than they’re worth. Especially writing on the go. But I make a rule for myself that I have *got* to transcribe, daily, what I’ve written in a notebook. That’s because I’ve lost notebooks, notebooks have gotten buried in other clutter, I’ve gotten seriously behind because I wrote 20 pages in a notebook…:)
Swankiness at the coffee shop! See, this is what I can’t understand…
Elizabeth, LOL. I live in Boston, and the Starbucks that has the most seating is the one that’s part of a major shopping center in the city that happens to be attached to a few hotels. So, yes, rather swanky. And I hear you about notebook-risks! If my Nook had a keyboard, that would be the perfect solution, but sadly, no.
Daring Novelist, my husband (an attorney) does work sometimes in pizza shops or Burger King. I’m always paranoid that they’re going to kick me out though.
I’m always a big fan of coffee shop writing. And avoiding distractions from home is a big part of that. Though I don’t write with my back to the room–just the opposite, so that when the cafe gets crowded at peak times, someone can’t see what I’m writing. My own insecurities, but the tradeoff as you mention is the extra distraction that comes with being able to see the whole room. But still, usually a productive time! Glad it works for you too.
I can usually tune out everything at home by hiding in my office and turning on some music. And sometimes the TV as well. (No sound though – that would be overkill.)
I’m still in awe over your word count. It would take me three hours to write that much.
Deb: re being kicked out of fast food joints.
My local Taco Bell gets my order ready as soon as they see my car pull into the parking lot, and often comps my drink. The McDs is generally full of people working on things.
But… it’s a college town.
Some places have rules about how large of a table a single person can take, others have rules about working during the lunch rush. But mostly, businesses are friendly to people coming in and staying all day, as long as they don’t discommode other customers.
I almost HAVE to work on my writing outside my home. Even if the family traffic flow is low or nil, I still find it too easy to get distracted if I’m at my own desk. So many other more interesting things to do than constructive work! So I will frequent libraries, bookstores, and coffee houses. And I agree, I feel guilty if I don’t buy something to justify occupying the space, but unless it’s a mom-and-pop shop i don’t feel too guilty about switching to water after the first cup–Starbucks, after all, isn’t going to go broke on account of me (*evil empire*).
Bluestocking–With my back to the room in this particular Starbucks, I was facing the door. :) Sigh. Also a little distracting, but I managed to ignore it this time.
Alex–Oh, it’s just a rhythm of the story thing. And the pure deadline desperation, of course. Bleh.
J. D.–Ha! Well, that’s true enough. For some reason, I always feel like Starbucks wants to evict me, though.
j welling–Oh, good point on the lighting. I had a hard time transcribing my writing later because my handwriting was so terrible from not seeing the page well. Is dim lighting cool? Some coffee shops must think so!
I’ve also written stuff in coffee shops that needed to be thrown into the waste basket on the way out. :) But most of the time I can block everything out and crank out what needs cranking out. I think it’s because I got my training while Sesame Street played in the background when my daughter was a toddler.
You’re absolutely right about the worst thing that can happen in a coffee shop. And…here in the South, everyone is very *friendly*! I hate being the most unfriendly person in the coffee shop (I’m usually very friendly, really!) but once you open that door, you can’t slam it. So yeah–I don’t look around, I plug my headphones in, and I just look at that notebook. And slug down coffee. :)
I follow just about all your tips, actually, although my preference is to face the restaurant rather than face away from it. Most of my writing done outside the home, though, is fictional, so I need every character I can get. :) Great post!
Camille–Now that’s service!
Not so much a college town in my part of Charlotte (suburbs). I always feel the proprietors are looking at me askance (but then, I *do* have a highly developed imagination, so it’s possible it’s all in my head.) :)
Dina–And going out is a great way to character shop!
Sometimes I’m trying *not* to get more characters and trying *not* to look at people and a character just pratically bowls me over. Funny how characters can force themselves on us sometimes.
A couple of times, I’ve taken pictures of these characters with my phone (pretending to text, making sure the flash is turned off) for my character board. They were just *such* good characters and sometimes I’ll see a person who looks just like a character I’ve pictured in my head. I have a feeling that some day I’m going to end up in trouble doing that… :)
Thanks Elizabeth. I actually think that coffee shops, for me, are absolutely the worst place to write. There are just too many distractions, but they are a great place to relax, think and get new ideas.
One place that works for me usually is the food court at the mall, or even better the food court at a downtown office building. Not at lunch time, 12-2pm, but almost anytime before and after I can find a quiet corner to write.
And I can get a coffee or snack anytime I want.
Mike Martin is the author of The Walker on the Cape, an East Coast mystery.
http://www.walkeronthecape,com
Mike–And you can probably practically get lunch there for the same cost as the coffee!
It’s good you found a place that works so well for you. :)
Pandora!!! Love the “Solo Piano” station – try it.
I write in a coffee shop when I start feeling too isolated at home. The irony is striking though – choosing to work in a communal place, then slapping on the headphones and turning my back so I’m not distracted. It’s a delicate balance.
Dakota, sunglasses indoors, and Starbucks language. This post cracked me up!
Marjorie–That sounds right up my alley! I’ll try the station.
That same exact thought crosses my mind when I’m doing that, too! But then, the difference is that I don’t look around Starbucks and think how messy it looks and that I should start tidying up…ha!
Julie–I’m not cool enough for Starbucks! :)