Where do you go to write?

March 25, 2009 9:42 PM

We all know the story of J.K. Rowling writing most of the first Harry Potter at local coffee shops in London. Where do you go to write? Bonus points for places in Portland, OR
posted by 2oh1 to Writing & Language (23 answers total)

Best answer: I think coffee shops are typical for a reason: they're the perfect place.

You'll get a lot of snark about how people are just pretending to work and trying to show off and get attention, and I'm sure some are. But here's why I do it:

1) Too many distractions at home. Just can't focus there.
2) To try to have a work/home separation. When I'm at the coffee shop, I'm writing, and when I'm home, I'm home, so I let myself relax and don't beat myself up about how I "should be working."
3) Writing is a lonely pursuit, and it helps me to be around other human beings, even if I have headphones in.

I actually write a gelato shop (they also have coffee) called Pazzo Gelato in the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. I know that doesn't help you, but you asked, and everyone there is super-cool and they deserve a plug. It feels like home to me and I can always get a seat, unlike at some of the dedicated coffee shops in the area.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:47 PM on March 25, 2009 [1 favorite]

I can't write in coffeeshops. Too much going on. I do like writing on my train commute, which is about an hour each way. I have an acquaintance who has written several novels that way. Other than that I write at home.
posted by sugarfish at 9:55 PM on March 25, 2009

Oh, and in a cubicle at a large corporation where your boss doesn't watch you too closely can be good, too.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:57 PM on March 25, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Henriquez Studio consists of a boat in the middle of the Rockies (in a sub-alpine forest in the middle of a National Park) converted into a writing studio. You can book a independant or self-directed residency there and they'll even drop off a pirate hat for you, but there are important rules to follow, most important of which is that you must have at least one pirate party (not that kind of pirate party).
posted by furtive at 10:01 PM on March 25, 2009 [4 favorites]

At home, at my desk.

I have writer friends who I meet with at a coffee place to "get work done", but no work can ever be done in a social setting for me, really. Mindless work, maybe (grading a paper or two), but if I'm going to be doing really meaningful writing, it needs to be relatively quiet and relatively comfy.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:17 PM on March 25, 2009

I write on the bus. No one's paying attention to me or interrupting, and it works with my 50 mile commute.
posted by chana meira at 10:18 PM on March 25, 2009

Best answer: The park.
posted by turgid dahlia at 10:40 PM on March 25, 2009

Public transit ommutes, coffeeshops, park benches, hotel rooms, sitting at bars, libraries, friends' houses, my neighbours' couch while they watch sports. Sometimes I even use my (work) office after-hours or on weekends- it's amazing how quiet an office building gets at 3am!
For me, the trick is a combination of foam earplugs and background noise- either the noise of the public, or quiet, familiar music, mostly silenced by the earplugs. It has to be both noise AND earplugs, not just one of those things.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:47 PM on March 25, 2009

Portland: I like the Tin Shed on NE 14th/Alberta, and the Rocking Frog at SE 25th and Belmont. Both may have changed since I moved a couple years ago, but I ducked into the Rocking Frog last weekend and it seemed the same - though they've taken out the cushy chairs and put in tables, presumably (and I don't blame them) so people will leave occasionally. I liked it best as it generally had less/less intrusive music, was housed in a beautiful Victorian and was open very late.

Tin Shed has/had lots of music, sometimes loudish, and at peak times it's enormously crowded but it's likewise a good writing spot. I think it had a more self-consciously Writerly crowd, and sometimes bands and readings, if that makes a positive or negative difference.

I wish there were places like either of these where I live now.
posted by thesmallmachine at 11:08 PM on March 25, 2009

Oh, I've never actually written there, and only been once, but the Fireside Lounge seems cozy. It's open all night.

I also echo everything the first commenter said. I work at a gelato shop sometimes, too.
posted by thesmallmachine at 11:10 PM on March 25, 2009

Best answer: As some other mentioned, I like coffeeshops because working at home can get pretty lonely. Working at a coffeeshop is the closest thing to working in an actual workplace, with the social interactions and background noise. At home I have a TV, shelves full of books, and a girlfriend, so there are just too many distractions. Coffeeshops also have caffeine, which may not help me write per se, but at least lets me feel more excited about what I'm doing.

But I've pretty much resigned myself to the idea that there's going to be some distraction present no matter where I go, and I'm an easily distracted person (right now I'm in the middle of cutting a video, and I'm writing this on my second MeFi break in 15 minutes). So I also like the public library. It's a good place to research, and it's not the Internet (which is arguably a better place to research, but also a good place to find funny cat videos).

Also seconding drjimmy's #2.
posted by hifiparasol at 11:41 PM on March 25, 2009

A very slight snark - but Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter books in cafes around Edinburgh.

Anyway. one of the main places she hung out was the Elephant House. It is a great place, with amazing views of the Hogwarts-ish Edinburgh Castle. You quite often see young writers there, hoping to tap the same vibes that JK found.
posted by TheOtherGuy at 12:49 AM on March 26, 2009

Response by poster: Good god - did I say London? What the heck was I thinking?!?!
posted by 2oh1 at 1:16 AM on March 26, 2009

I generally write best at home, but sometimes I need to get away. When I do, it is often a coffee shop for similar reasons stated above, but I have also gone to bars, somewhere in nature (which in Portland is often difficult), and university libraries. Most public libraries I've gone to are either too small, too uncomfortable, or aren't open when I'm in the mood to write. PSU has some comfy places to write and if there's a Saturday market, then a quick snack is nearby. The only drawback to some universities is that they may check to see if you have a student ID. I've only had this happen once though. 3am in a late night study wing of a large university library.

It often depends on the energy of the place, what I'm writing or want to write or how easily distracted I am on any given day.
posted by Sir BoBoMonkey Pooflinger Esquire III at 2:55 AM on March 26, 2009

Another bit of information pertaining to JK Rowling and Harry Potter: she claims that she got the idea for the original series while travelling on a train from London Kings Cross to Manchester - the train was delayed for 4 hours.

So anyway - trains can be a good place to write as well as to seek inspiration. Come and visit us here in the UK and experience our inspirational transport delays. Bring a pen!
posted by rongorongo at 4:50 AM on March 26, 2009

Zut alors, such misinformation.

Rowling spent hours in the (now defunct I believe) Nicolson's cafe, not the Elephant House. And you'd be going the long way round getting a train to Manchester from King's Cross - Euston's more usual.
posted by ComfySofa at 6:11 AM on March 26, 2009

Environments with sustained white noise backgrounds (e.g., trains, planes) have somehow facilitated coming up with more unusual writing ideas for me. Other than that, I second the university libraries with multiple floors and study desks posted at the windows surrounding central stacks. Easy to amble around and occasionally wander off for a break at the stude union coffee bar.
posted by chobiewan at 6:34 AM on March 26, 2009

Best answer: To be PDX specific... I write while sitting in Pioneer Square, but I mostly write observations of the people i watch there. Also, I haven't ever spent much time there, but Urban Grind on NW 14th between K and L is super roomy and, when I've been there, fairly quiet.
posted by hopeless romantique at 6:51 AM on March 26, 2009

If you are going coffee shop, I think you might want to think about getting a laptop without wifi, or rip out the wifi if you can. Get an old thinkpad or something. For me having wifi available is a guarantee that I'm going to goof off.

Ironic, writing this, as I have a test I should be studying for in 45 minutes!
posted by sully75 at 7:13 AM on March 26, 2009

Another PDX specific - I like coffee shops with comfy seating, and lately I've been into 3 Friends on SE 12th and ?oak? just off Bside in any case. Its right next to Hungry Tiger Too, which has a great happy hour and vegan food - because sometimes i like to drink beer and write. Another great place close by is Red and Black Cafe, which I like because its unassuming. Opposable Thumbs cafe on SE Belmont is another winner.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:57 AM on March 26, 2009

Three Friends is great. I also go to Seven Virtues at 60th and NE Glisan, or Concordia Coffee, if I'm in the Alberta neighborhood. I find them all good places to focus and write as they are never horribly crowded, at least when I go during the week.
posted by medeine at 10:37 AM on March 26, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks for the input all!

I picked up a small laptop (with great battery life!) in hopes that a change of scenery will help inspire some creativity. I guess that what I really need to do is just head out and try a few places. There's obviously no shortage of coffee shops here in Portland. Once warmer weather arrives, I'll have to check out parks too. Well, I've been to them many times - especially Waterfront and Washington Park - but I didn't have a laptop, so the idea of working there never occurred to me.

I'd LOVE to drop by pubs for writing, but I don't think it's wise for me to start a $5 a shot (pint, really) habit. Coffee seems cheaper. Then again, no coffee at the library is even cheaper still.
posted by 2oh1 at 12:35 PM on March 26, 2009

I haven't lived in PDX in many years, but spent many, many hours writing in the downtown library - particularly in the 3rd floor music room.

There, and Dots on Clinton, which was always empty in the middle of the afternoon and yet felt just decrepit enough for authenticity.
posted by catlet at 1:39 PM on March 26, 2009