Write for Us
Spill Them Beans was created to give writers some fertile ground to play and readers a place to find stories connected by a single thread — coffee shops. At its heart, this is an exploration.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it
Write about the people you see in the coffee shop where you’re banging away at your keyboard. Let your creativity run free!
Detailed descriptions of real events are encouraged. Spend time refining those descriptive skills by digging into the shape of the chairs or the gentle tug of the foam that spreads across a latte.
Inspiration found in the everyday is encouraged. So often, you’ll see kindness or joy or bittersweet remembrance in the smallest interactions. This is a place to capture those things.
The fictionalization of your observations is encouraged. Create a backstory for the guy sitting by the window sipping his matcha. Envision a hidden spy life for the barista.
Spill Them Beans rules
Follow the rules and your article is guaranteed to be published here. Keep it simple!
- Never include names of people you’re watching or other identifying information.
- Don’t infringe on the space of others in your coffee shop people watching. Steer clear of prying or peeping and respect the space of the folks who are inspiring your work.
- Keep it on the positive side. No hate speech or derogatory language of any kind towards any group will be published.
- Cursing is accepted.
- Imperfect writing is encouraged.
Get added as a writer
To get added as a writer, just ask in the responses below! Be sure to include your @ handle so that I can find you easily.
Once you’ve been added, then you can submit using the drop-down ellipse at the top of your unpublished piece.
Submission guidelines
Your imagination is free to run, but please follow the following guidelines so that we can keep Spill Them Beans cohesive.
- Include a royalty-free, cited picture. It can be one you take or from a free site like Unsplash, etc. Do not include pictures of the subject of your writing without their express permission.
- Tag your work.
- Minimum length is 500 words, maximum is1500 words.
- Include the following at the bottom of your piece, with the text changed for your conditions.
About them beans
Who: A quiet student.
Where: Beanstreets in downtown Asheville, North Carolina
When: Late Wednesday morning in the third week of June.
What I’m drinking: Lavender cafe au lait.
— — — — — — — —
Submit to Spill Them Beans as often as you like! We’re here to build stories and sharpen writing skills through practice and connection. Over coffee.
