Writers Writing in Cafes
There is a storied history
Ernest Hemingway. F. Scott Fitzgerald. J. K. Rowling. They are a few famous, successful writers who spent considerable time writing in cafes. Observing the phenomena in the cafes of today, I notice no one is writing with a pen and paper or typewriter. I imagine the writers of yesterday writing their novels in ink then perhaps hiring someone to type the manuscript.
It certainly isn’t as romantic to type on a laptop, but such is modern life. Some think it looks pretentious or showy. Look at me, I’m writing! Most of us have perfectly comfortable, efficient places to write at home. There are also many distractions at home for things to do other than write.
I decided to try it. Maybe my name will be added to that list. I set up my ipad and keyboard after finishing my lunch. I ordered coffee to perpetuate the mystique while I was typing. Sure there were distractions but I let them feed me as inspiration.
This is what I wrote:
The story was selected by curators at Medium to be distributed in the topics of “Family” and “Relationships”. I hadn’t had a story distributed in topics for a while and was getting discouraged. I couldn’t help feeling superstitious about the coincidence of the first thing I wrote in a coffee shop meeting with success.
I decided to try it again. I replicated the process. Except this time school was out and two young kids sat down next to me with their mother. They brought an unsettled, rowdy energy. There was commotion related to their mother getting them their food. They had video games. They were so close to me I couldn’t focus at all on what I was doing.
I decided to get as much done as I could and complete the process at home where I could focus. I kept typing.
The kids were staring at me. I heard the boy ask his mother, “What is she doing?” The fact that I must do all of my typing using only my right hand looks weird. I was tempted to tell him I was writing the great American novel, but he was so young I was sure he wouldn’t get it.
I wrote more pieces in that cafe that were not distributed in topics so I suppose there really wasn’t any magic there. However, I found I do enjoy being served food and coffee while I write. I’m going to try some different cafes.
Do you have a story about writing in cafes? Please share them in the comments.
Thank you for reading :)
