Fahrenheit 451, proves you don’t need a coffee shop to boost productivity!
Montag and Clarisse (2014)
Frank Germano
Ink & Acrylic
Well not exactly, but Fahrenheit 451 (Synopsis: dystopian future where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any that are found) made me question my current tactics to be a better writer.
How much importance do I place on environment rather than simply get to work? I was convinced words were hidden in a “magical writing spot.”This spot was built on a desire to be more productive (with coffee & snacks); a better writer overall.
One day, life happened. Mornings at Starbucks we’re the first thing to go. First, I wasn’t meeting my daily writing goals. Now, I had no where to work.
In the following weeks, the feeling of being uncomfortable didn’t go away. I had two choices: write or don’t write.
I erased from my mind “how a writer should work”, and simply began to play with words.
Here’s three reasons I think you can give up the coffee shop and work with what you got:
Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them, at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garnet for us. “ -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
1.) Prevents you from making unnecessary things, necessary.
I am a coffee addict and the background noise of the coffeeshop has been sceintifically proven to be beneficial. It took me four years to realize: spending $5 on a “coffee creative boost”, doesn’t actually mean more pages written.
2.) Switching your work environment is important, being comfortable is not.
Writing takes a pen, paper and life. What’s important is your voice and sharing it. You will find your voice and stories in the midst of failure, mistakes and obstacles. Emotions that can only be experienced by trying. Write the lessons you learn, when uncomfortable, and share them.
3.) No excuse for not working on your craft.
I love coffee shops but not being able to buy coffee cannot be an excuse for not writing. How many of us hold ourselves back from our crafts because we tell ourselves we don’t have everything we need?
Use what you have, use it well and work hard. You can always get better.
