How to Write in a Café or Coffee Shop
Writing in a coffee shop or café: Tips to make it better
I’m writing this piece from my favorite coffee shop. The coffee here is strong. The baked goods aren’t too loaded with sugar. The owners are hospitable and welcoming. The place is within walking distance of my home.
In fact, during our COVID lockdown, I knitted myself a pair of fingerless gloves so that, even in winter, I could sit on their outdoor patio to people watch and write. Somehow, in the midst of all our fear and loss, it helped to look around and see that, just like me, other folks were at their tables, safely chatting with friends or working on their creative projects.
New in town? New at writing? Or you just want a place to escape, where you can put some spatial and psychic distance between your day job and home?
Here are my six tips for writing in a café or coffee shop.
6 Tips for Writing in a Café or a Coffee Shop
Music and noise: If the indoor or outdoor music is too loud, it will drive you to distraction, not creativity. If you need music or white noise while you write, it should be your chosen genre and volume. Here’s a tip: Never, ever leave home without a set of noise-blocking ear plugs. I keep mine in my wallet. Or headphones. Also, check if your potential café tables are crushed too closely together.
Layout and Tables: At this place, my local coffee haunt, they have two large tables named “The Coffice,” where there’s enough room to spread out your journal, drafts, pens and laptop. Every café is different, but, if possible, choose a table that’s well away from the counter queue.
WiFi Connection: If you’re drafting or editing, you may want to eclipse all digital distractions, including the internet. But sometimes, even when you’re in the writing ‘flow,’ you may need to quickly check some fact or research a needed detail. Bottom line: You can always put your device on “Airplane’ mode, and it’s better to have WiFi than to wish you had.
General Café Ambiance and ‘Fit:’ It can be as literary or mythical as Simone de Beauvoir’s famous Café de Flore. Or, I once had a writing student who exclusively wrote in her neighborhood fast-food chain restaurant (hint: this chain has yellow arches). So if you’re starting out, prepare to do a little Goldilocks-styled café hopping until you find one that feels just right for you.
Respecting other customers: Some writers need white noise. Others can write to the backdrop of general café chatter. Still other café customers are there not to write, but to catch up with friends or make a phone call. So let’s respect each everyone’s space and experience. Whatever your reason for visiting, please don’t put your phone calls or virtual work meetings on speaker. I really don’t want to hear your Zoom meeting or partner spats or a recitation of your grocery list or your weekly check-in with Mum. And you wouldn’t want to hear mine.
Find Ways to Save Money: As we work other day jobs or side hustles, we need to justify all our expenditures. When it comes to café and coffee trips, that means balancing ambiance with value. Look for a place that offers frequent-buyer or loyalty discounts or freebies. Plus, before your birthday or the holidays comes around, drop some heavy hints about the gift cards you’d like most.
For some of us, coffee shops are a daily gift and a place and a space for our writing. And sometimes, it’s a place to meet other writers or a new, peer writing group.
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