Writing in Coffee Shops

Every coffee shop is different. Some are loud, some are quiet, some serve great coffee, some serve swill, some will put you into a writing groove, some will make you want to eat the porcelain cups.

Finding the right coffee shop isn’t always an easy matter. You need a place that suits you with all your habits, ways and needs. You might be one of those people who can write anywhere…just bring on the coffee. You might find a place that turns your creative flow into a tsunami of creation, or you might end up in a place what wraps a cellophane bag around your brain.

Finding the right coffee shop may take time. I suggest you experiment with a few until you find one or more that meets your needs. More than one is best in case your favorite is closed for maintenance or some other crazy reason.

Here’s a checklist of things to look for. You don’t have to meet all the criteria, but try for as much of it as possible in two or three coffee shops. And try each place a few times (except the ones you definitely don’t like right off the bat).

Mood/Atmosphere

If you want relaxing, look for a quiet place with little or no music and a quiet crowd. You’ll usually find a place like this off the beaten track and away from commercial areas. If you want some background noise and a sense of human movement, look for a place that’s generally busy with a quick turnover in customers over the day and evening. Buy a coffee and sit in the coffee shop for 15 or 20 minutes and focus all your attention on the atmosphere around you. Is it positive or negative? Do you feel like writing or do you feel like leaving? Ask yourself if you could actually do some writing here. Make some notes about the place…what you like and what you don’t like.

The People

Wring in a coffee shop on a daily basis will give you plenty of opportunities to smile while you imagine looking into someone’s eyes as you strangle. Here’s the problem: An increasing majority of people in the 21st Century are self-centered and completely oblivious of the needs of other people and they’ll be coming to a coffee shop near you. They’ll get on their phones and talk loud enough for everyone within 50 feet to hear every single meaningless word they say. They’ll crowd you out with their tables and friends and try to push you into so little space that you’ll leave as they laugh all around you. They’ll chew gum with open mouths and look straight at you when they do this. And they’ll do it a few feet from your ears.

Before you commit to a coffee shop, get to know the clientele. Are they like the people I just mentioned? Or…do they take their calls outside or in the hall of a mall…or do they talk quietly? Are the people considerate for the most part? It’s been my experience that some places attract considerate customers and some attract jerks. If possible, scout your coffee shops at different times during the day to find out what it’s like with a morning, noon and evening crowd. Which of these times is best for you?

The Staff

Baristas: they can be angels, they can be demons. More important than the coffee the barista hands you is the way the barista hands you the coffee. I’ve had cups of coffee shoved in my direction. This is not the way I want to be treated, especially given the price I pay for the coffee. This is my place to write. I want it to be full of positive vibrations and a sense that my needs are being supported in this place. If the staff treats you like crap, leave. Don’t go back.

The staff should be friendly and accommodating. They should place your coffee on the counter as close to you as possible. They should smile while they’re dealing with the public. That would be you. You deserve a smile.

If you frequent the place, you should know their names and they should know yours. They should know what you want the moment you step through the door.

And they should know how to make coffee. One of the worst experiences I can imagine is feeling the excitement of diving into the great writing I was doing the night before, getting all set to continue, taking a sip of coffee and tasting...sludge. Coffee that’s lost its coffeeness by sitting too long or being made wrong in the first place will distract with angry taste buds.

Last note on the staff: If they treat you well, tip them. Remember, these are people who generally work for minimum pay because they’re expected to receive tips.

The Coffee

I won’t say much here…just that, if you love coffee, you’ll want good coffee. If you don’t mind what you’re drinking as you write, it’s not an issue.

If coffee keeps you awake at night, you should drink de-caf or green tea in the evening. I know a writer who drank one or two espresso coffees each evening when he wrote, even though it kept him up all night. He wouldn’t drink de-caf because he felt that would be cheating. Adjust your coffee drinking habits to your lifestyle and needs, and don’t worry about cheating.

The Coffee Shop

We’ve covered mood and atmosphere and the staff, but there are other things that can make or break your coffee shop experience. For instance, I ordered double espresso once and it was served up in a cardboard cup that was too big. I almost poured it onto the counter and walked out. There’s a certain amount of image and imagery surrounding the drinking of espresso coffee and none of it comes in a cardboard cup.

Light

Look for lots of window space if you don’t want to feel crowded. Look for cozy and secluded if you need that feeling of being away from everything in the real world as you write. Some shops are well-lighted, some are dark. Try writing in both to see which fans your creativity the most.

Customers

Check out the other customers. Do their noise levels distract you? Consider this: Two people sitting two tables in front of you having a conversation isn’t going to bother you (unless they’re very loud). It’s just part of the experience and why you’re there. However… consider someone sitting two tables away, facing you and talking on their cell phone or even worse, someone with headphones on and talking to someone online though a microphone…while they’re pointed straight at you. I had to stop writing in one coffee shop because it was taken over by gamers playing online and yelling every time they lost or won a point or whatever they were playing for.

Seating

Is there lots of seating? Getting your gear together and heading out to your favorite coffee shop can be a bummer when you’re standing there, steaming cup of coffee in hand, and there’s not a single empty table. This is heartbreaking. I always check for spots before I buy a coffee. If I see just one spot available, I put my coat and backpack at that table. If there’s nothing, then I go elsewhere. This is why it’s good to have more than one spots to write.

Fixtures

Make sure the fixtures are to your liking. Some places are furnished with uncomfortable plastic chairs that seem to be designed to give you back ache…they are…they’re designed to get you out of there as quickly as possible to make way for the next paying customer. Keep in mind the number of hours your butt is going to be parked in those chairs. This is one of the things that make mall food courts and fast food places like McDonalds and Tim Hortons less than ideal places to write.

Check out the tables. I wrote for a while in a place where the tables were wobbly. It drove me nuts. I had to put napkins under one of the legs to make it even with the other, but the wobbling would be back within minutes. The tables should be steady and a comfortable height for writing and word processing. If the tables are too high or too low, you’re not going to find your comfort zone. You also don’t want one of those tiny round tables that are just big enough for two cups of coffee and one or two elbows. If it’s just a laptop or notebook and a cup of coffee, this might work. Anything else…and you’re going to feel cramped and start dropping things.

Ambience

What’s the ambience like? This kind of fits in with mood/atmosphere, but I’d like to keep them separate in terms of the first being set by the people and ambience being set by the place itself and what the owners have done to make it that way. For instance, the walls might be barren or have a few ads for coffee brands…or...they might be full of abstract paintings or black and white photographs of moody scenes.

Is the overall feeling beat, artistic, academic, business, social? Pick one (or more) that suits your mood and self-vision.

Music

Make sure it’s not a music bar. I’ve seen this a few times. A place presents itself as a coffee shop and then starts bringing in bands and novice musicians playing their first live crowd. Coffee shop music is kept low and non-invasive, along the lines of a single singer and guitar player...two at the most. I’ve heard heavy metal being played in coffee shops. It didn’t work.

Internet

Make sure there’s a good connection…one that doesn’t conk out when there’s more than three people using it. You’ll need this for research. I use it to send my evening’s writing to myself in an email, which creates a great day by-day proof that you did the writing.

Food

Do they offer food? If they do, what’s it like? I’m sure some of the sandwiches I purchased at one shop were at least a week old. Generally, the food will be light…like pastries and sandwiches.

These are some of the things you should take into consideration in your search to find the perfect coffee shop(s). It might take time but you’ll be spending a lot of time there, so make it a place that boosts your urge to write, not sour it.

EXERCISE

Make a list of the things that exemplify the ideal coffee shop for you. This is where you should be writing. Take your list to a few coffee shops and check off the things you find on your list. It may not be close to you; you may have to drive, walk, bike, take a bus, teleport…just pick the coffee shop that’s closest to your ideal and as close to home as possible.