How to write in a cafe
Also, how to be invisible in a good way
Not every street does good coffee, but good coffee is not hard to find. What’s a little harder to find is a cafe you, a poor bedraggled writing student, can spend time in with your jacket thrown on the back of a chair and with a little under-the-table room to wiggle your toes or stretch those legs.
If you want to write in a cafe:
Timing is important. Don’t want to get knocked over by the lunch crowd. Or lack courtesy by occupying a place at a busy time that could earn a needed profit for the establishment by someone freer with their purse-strings. There may well be place at lunch if you want to have lunch too, then no worries. If you have the money, there’s more than enough room in the world for you.
Scout around, give a little glance as you walk by your favourite writing watering-holes. Ask yourself: is it busy?
It might seem awkward but it’s not. Once you get in the rhythm, you’ll know what to do.
Be a good ambassador for students, writers, indeed general humanity. Be good to the hospitality workers. Say ‘thanks’. Be friendly and incur friendship. This is no cold strategy to get what you want. Making it easy for hospitality workers is satisfying all by itself.
Find a cafe, look for an empty spot, and write.
There’s not much distinguishing a student or freelancer of some sort from a writer if you are lugging along a laptop. It has become the norm to work in cafes. When you are writing, imagining, it’s a little different. It’s dreamier for sure but you aren’t being a bother. If you write by hand, it can seem more curious. I often use my bike helmet for cover while I handwrite so not to draw attention. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I like to blend in with the environment like the boy from Paul Jennings’ The Unforgettable What’s His Name.
