Julie Barrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Plano, TX.

Why I Don't Write At the Coffee Shop

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Sunday, June 13, 2010


Roger Ebert tweeted a link to this story. Yeah, we writers go to Starbucks and get anything except writing done.

Which is one reason I've given up writing there. It's a great place to watch people. Sometimes I'll take my laptop and catch up on my e-mail or morning web links, but I just don't get any writing done. There used to be a local establishment where I could go to write, but they closed down. Probably the very thing that I enjoyed - the peace and quiet - did it in.

The last time I went to write at Starbucks another writer slid up next to me at the counter (this is where the writers and road warriors hang out because of the availability of power) and started telling me how to write. He mistook my deep thought over worldbuilding for a block. Well, I certainly had a block then.

So I went to another local coffee shop. The proprietor wanted to chat. That was the price of the wi-fi code, apparently. Again, I got nothing done.

The coffee shop is now one of the places I go to get out of the house for a bit. If it's political season and I'm not getting any work due to the constant stream of robocalls, I may as well go somewhere relaxing. But I always carry a notepad in case I do get an idea. (And no, I can't turn the phone off. I would if I could. But that's another, long story.)

I love the coffee shop. They still get too much of my money. But it's not the place for me to write.

Tags: Writing

Filed under: Writing            

 

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