How to Write in Coffee Shops

First, a story. Once upon a time, in a television show called Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw wrote salacious advice columns in her cute New York City apartment, that she couldn't possibly afford IRL.

Until one day, in one particular episode, she's forced to flee to premises to work at a Starbucks while her boyfriend Aidan fixes up her apartment like the perfect boyfriend that he is. Anyway. The point is, Carrie comments that people writing in coffee shops are phonies.

I CALL BULL.

Writers don't have to write in coffee shops, of course. They also don't need to drink tea/coffee, quote Shakespeare, go to poetry readings or play Quidditch. There isn't a writer initiation, thank goodness. Writers write. That's the only rule.

Maybe you're the type of writer who needs complete silence. Maybe you blare music. Maybe you even watch TV shows as background noise (guilty). Whatever works for you, do that. Writing is hard enough. But, there are benefits to coffee-shop writing, so if you're looking to branch out, I've got a few tips! 

People-Watch

Ok, so this doesn't technically fall under "how to write in coffee shops." More like "how to stalk in coffee shops." Still. People-watching is a writer's secret weapon of inspiration. Write that down. Here are a few ideas of things worth your attention:

1. Interactions. How do the people around you treat one another? Are they friendly? Are they cautious?
2. Conversations. Okay, tread lightly here. This is a tad violating, but it's beneficial to observe how people talk to each other.
3. Activity. What's happening around you? Coffee spills? Study groups?

You will be amazed at the kind of people you'll see, the kind of conversations you'll accidentally-on-purpose overhear. Trust me, you'll be hammering away at the keys in no time.

The Barista is Your Best Friend

Say you find your favorite coffee shop. Say you find your favorite chair in your favorite coffee shop. You know, the one with the perfect lighting and easy access to a wall plug? These are all good things. But let's not forget the one who holds all the cards here, my friend. The barista.

I like to make friends with baristas because a) they're awesome and b) they start to remember my order and that's the dream. Tip your baristas. They're the ones in charge of the thermostat.

Bring Headphones, Even if You're Not Listening to Anything

Here's a productivity secret for you. If you plan on listening to music, by all means, this is an excellent way to go about that. If not, wearing headphones can isolate you a little bit. Jenny, do you want me to be a loner? Yes. Yes, I do.

Think of it as tricking your mind. By cutting yourself off from the other people around you, even in just a small way, you can tap into your own mind a lot easier. Try this: point at the nearest coffee person and say you don't exist. Just kidding. Don't do that. Too late? Oops.

Discussion Time: What are your coffee shop techniques? Where's your favorite writing spot? 

And the Title Quest Comes to an End

I selfie with good reason, everyone. I HAVE A TITLE. I HAVE A TITLE. I HAVE A TITLE, HEY HEY HEY HEY. If you follow me over here on Twitter, or maybe you read last week's post over here, you know that it's taken me about 150 titles to finally reach this point of being an official book titler. (Yes, there's an award ceremony for this honor and yes, it comes with a plaque and trophy.)

And now I'm going to be terrible and make you wait until the very end to actually reveal the title, because you know, I have to give you a brief synopsis of the book. (I know you can just scroll to the bottom. But this is an honor system and you wouldn't want to break our code of friendship would you?) You may be semi-familiar with this book if you've read the first scene I posted here or the second scene I posted here. Note: these scenes are in no particular order and my apologies if this confuses the heck out of you.

UNOFFICIAL BOOK SYNOPSIS

Once upon a time… no scratch that. Let's start over.

In small town Louisiana, there used to be a Wendy who used to love a Simon who grew up and went away. And came back. And went away again. Now, ten years later, 24-year-old Wendy Lake hasn't changed much. She's living with her parents again, working full-time and going through the typical twenty-something college withdrawals. Until her best friend gets engaged. Suddenly, Simon ricochets back into Wendy's life and she's faced with questions she's been struggling to ignore. Do people ever really change? Do two people, who can never make it work, actually get it right? And most importantly, does she even want to?

This is a story about the nature of love and time and all of that crazy growing up that happens in between. It's about first love, the kind that shakes your soul. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably want to watch funny cat videos. Why? Well, just because they're awesome.

NOTE: This is not my first novel. I originally started writing a YA fantasy novel that's temporarily on the back burner, because this story just kind of snagged me. As I've said before, it's something I've meant to write for a longggg time, but never felt I could get it right. But now, IT'S HAPPENING. (I just double checked to make sure).

Ok? Have you had enough waiting? Do you want the title? DO YA? DO YA? DO YA?

Fine.

AND THE TITLE IS...

 "THESE ARE THE MOMENTS"

After much deliberation, this is the title that seemed to fit every aspect of the book. Moments of clarity. Defining moments. Moments of truth.  This book is a collection of high points and low points, which I guess every book is in a way, but this one kind of thrives on those waves. It's a collection of those moments: the pretty kind to keep us warm at night, as well as the ugly ones we try to avoid all together.

SO YES. There you have it. A title for an almost book. What do you think?

How to Choose Your Book Title (Or Not)

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know my struggle with title-picking. Let's think about this logically: a book can be anywhere from 20,000 words to 80,000 words, and as writers, we are supposed to shrink down this whole monster (which by the way, we've labored and sweat over) into 1 or 2 or 6 words. That's like trying to put a mountain in your pocket. GOOD LUCK. Oh, and don't forget: it has to have a message or stand out or bake you cookies or something. Exhausted yet? Want to give up?

If you want to know how to choose your book title, well, you probably shouldn't have come to me, because as it stands, I don't have a title. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. (By that I mean in the next 48 hours. But 49 hours? Yeah... probably not then either.) So why is it so hard for us to pick a title? Because it's an identifier. It's the sum of all that hard work. Sometimes, writers start with a title and find a story to fit. You people are lucky. Still, I think it's easier (ish) to build a story and have it find its title along the way. Maybe it's a second draft thing? Anyway, here are some random techniques I've come up with for title-picking:

Write Down Every Idea. I am a big believer in the iPhone notes section. I have one for book plot ideas, one for quotes from friends/random strangers/etc, and one for title ideas. At this moment, I have approximately 130 title ideas, most of which I hate. So why do I keep them? A few reasons. By keeping the junk ideas, it helps me get to the heart of what I'm trying to talk about. It's giving me a focus. Also, I can mix and match bad titles and hopefully come up with something good. Maybe I'll even get a better idea from the junk pile.

Pay Attention to Words. I'm somewhat of a word collector these days. Like petrichor, which is the word for that after-rain smell. Not that I'm going to use that in my title, but you know, you could. If you pay attention to words, the light bulb in your head might just freak out and it'll be like EUREKA. Yep. BAM. Title. Did you understand any of that gibberish? No? I'm basically just saying you need words to make a title. But you already knew that.

Borrow or "Steal" Titles. You probably already stopped reading, but if you didn't, just calm down. I'm not telling you to name your book "Harry Potter" or "Gone with the Wind" or something. Think about the books that you love and look for structure. For example, Harry Potter is "Name of Character and Situation." The Great Gatsby? Proves the importance of alliteration. This is Where I Leave You? Hey, that's a full sentence. Take structures and fit your own words into it. You never know what might happen.

When all else fails, pick a title out of a hat. Name it "TBD" or "Untitled." Just pick a random word. "Button." There. That's my title. (Just kidding. I think.) I mean, what's in a title, anyway? When you think about Harry Potter, you're not thinking about the name of the book. You're picturing the characters, remembering the story, remembering how it makes you feel. In the long run, a title is a title. It's your story that people are going to remember.

Write More, Edit Less

Write More

photo by Oleh Slobodeniuk

In so many ways, I'm still a baby writer. I haven't fully finished a manuscript yet and I'm only a year out of college. And now is where you think, "Umm, why am I listening to you?" And maybe you shouldn't. Run along, now. WAIT JUST KIDDING. Don't go. Anyway, here's the thing. We're all on this writer journey together. Whether you're half a book or twenty-eight books into your writer life, you're never "there." In writing, there is no end game. There is no finish line. There's a million little ones, which is great news for us, because there's always one more to cross.

Ok, enough with the lame metaphors. What I really want to talk about is the secret to writing. That's right. The one you've all been waiting for. Drum roll please. The more I write, the more I realize that I need to write. Huh? What?  When I first began to write, I agonized over every line, doing my best to make sure that everything sounded just right. Except, here's the thing: most of the time, it didn't. Why? Because it was a first draft! And that's what first drafts do. They don't work right away. So basically, I was spending all of this time trying to edit myself as I wrote my first draft, picking my words while I threw out ones that never even had the chance to make it onto the page.

THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU COULD DO. I lost so many good words, ideas and possibilities because I was so busy trying to sound "perfect" right away. Lesson learned, my friends. Here is what you really want to do: write more and edit less. Write more scenes that suck. Write more scenes that you hate yourself for later. Then, when the time is right, you can weed through all the junk and find the little glittery spots of "okay, awesome." When you write more, there's more room to grow. For instance, my main character Wendy originally started as a teacher. I've since then steered away from that, trying to place her in a super boring job (TBD). The way you get to know your story is by letting it shift from side to side on the page. If you keep it all in your head, it has nowhere to go.

Write More. My philosophy is pretty simple. If you write A LOT, then it's easy to edit later. You can cut the fat faster than you'd think, and save it for another project. You know what you can't do? Edit an empty page. I mean… if you can, then maybe you're a genie, in which case, I should be asking you for three wishes. Number one: Christmas all year round, 24/7. Number two… ok, I just remembered about this post I had to write. WRITE MORE. EDIT LESS. Writing is the fun part. Agreed? Editing is where we roll our eyes and kick the paper across the room. So it's in our benefit to write more when all of those creative juices are flowing. I never really liked that term. Creative juices. Bleh.

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The Best Notebooks for Writers

The Best Notebooks for Writers

Confession: I'm a notebook hoarder. I buy notebooks for both functionality and you know, if they're pretty, and I keep them stacked with my books. Lately, I've been writing everything by hand. So I'm breezing through my stockpile. And also icing my hand, because well, you get it.

Every writer has a different strategy. I'm definitely not here to tell you what's the "best" way, because that just doesn't exist. But if you're looking for ideas, here's a good list of the types of notebooks to keep:

Writing Notebook

I mean, this is pretty obvious right? This is where I keep my scenes, where I brainstorm, where I keep all my story stuff in one place. This might just be the most important of the best notebooks for writers, because it's where the magic happens.

Idea Journal

I'm always getting these different "what if's" and "if only's" that I need to write down or else they're gone forever. My brain works like that. If I don't write it down immediately, it's gone forever. Half of my story comes from these jotted down ideas, and it's important to keep them all gathered in one place.

Normal Journal

I've kept a diary (on and off) since I was nine or ten. Again, if I don't write things down, then I won't remember them. And the last thing I want to forget is my own life, am I right? If you're one of those people who can keep a daily journal - like my good pal, Emma Watson - then more power to you. There are all sorts of ideas that can stem from your own observations.

FreeWrite Journal

This is where you just write down everything and anything, no matter how crazy it is. You just sit there, and log your time or your word count, depending on how you work best. It's amazing what you can come up with when you just allow yourself the time.

Ok, I hope this post was helpful. I won't lie to you. I'm half-sleeping as I write this, which if you think about it, just proves how awesome I think you are. Right? Right.

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