It is quite common and conventional to see the typical blogger sitting in a coffee shop, in front of a notebook or a laptop, a cup of hot coffee beside him, his eyes looking into the distance, gathering his thoughts, searching intently for the will to begin typing, hoping for an endless stream of words to come before his drink runs out. You can see it in every city, in every town, in every corner. There will always be that one person who’s happy with his solitude, who’s quite content with being alone with his words.
While it is an incontrovertible fact that writers and bloggers do not need to be in a coffee shop to actually produce something compelling, it cannot be denied that the creative writing process is fostered and improved by this excellent place. Each component of this locale contributes significantly to the act of weaving words into a narrative. It’s where one goes to when one needs a break or a change of scenery. It’s where one goes to when stuck in a rut. It’s where one goes to when one can’t move past a word or a paragraph. It’s where one goes to when one wants to find new material, when one is seeking for inspiration, when one wants to go looking for a new story to write about.
Just imagine yourself sitting at a coffee shop, in a patio, on a bright and sunny day. The light from the sun showers down on everything calmly, giving everything an exquisite glow. The writer and blogger looks at everything with renewed insight. In this new scenery, ordinary things become extraordinary, and one can paint every object as if they were something new.
And then there’s the coffee, black, iced, with a little dash of cream or milk, refreshing yet invigorating, fuels the mind and greases the gears, allowing the writer and blogger to be clever, quick-witted and more imaginative than usual. Or, if it’s a particularly hot that day, a glass of iced lemonade, sweet, sour, cold, keeping the sweat at bay, refreshing the body and mind, providing the perfect sensation to go on with writing.
Of course, there’s the complex aromas of the place itself. The smell of roasted coffee, and steamed milk, and burning sugar, and the succulent syrups and juicy fruits. And there’s the pastries, muffins, Danish, cookies, biscotti, rolls, croissants, Paninis, sandwiches and everything one can imagine, in all color, in all shapes and forms, calling after one has written the first thousand words.
And then there’s the people that haunt the coffee shops, the visitors, the quick drinkers, the coffee and caffeine addicts, the throng of friends and co-workers, the lovers, the waiters and baristas, and everyone else who treat the coffee shop as a second home. Each goes in with the same intention: to get a cup of coffee. Yet they lead different lives and have different reasons for the purchase. There’s the mom of five who needs a boost of energy after taking her kids to school or day care. There’s the stressed-out, strung out, incredibly tired student, rushing to finish a paper on that night, getting a really large cup of java in order to get the energy she needs to accomplish her tasks. There’s the working stiff who’s getting a shot of espresso to pump him up for the upcoming meeting. And, of course, there are the group of friends hanging out, talking loudly about other people, gossiping about the latest good news, the newest tragedy and the most talked about secrets of their common friends.
The coffee shop is a host to dozens of individuals, each with their own unique story, and each with their personal tale. It is a slice of the community and the world we live in. Sitting in that table outside, who wouldn’t get inspired? We become witness to a part of the day, to the hustle and bustle of other people’s lives, enough for anyone to acquire materials to be written.
All of these combined together makes the coffee shop a veritable haven for the writer and the blogger. It has everything one needs to lead and sustain a writing life. It is unlike any other.
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