My local writers’ café is called Blend. There are probably other cafes in town that other people could use but the one I notice people writing in is Blend. Actually thinking about it, I see people writing in the chain shops too, though I tend not to go in them now so what do I know. If I were to go to a coffee shop to write then it would be in Blend.

I don’t go into coffee shops to write though. I go to coffee shops to be sociable, to catch up with my friends. For me writing requires solitude and peace. I need to hear my words as I type them. I need a familiar scene so as not to distract me. I tend to write either on the kitchen table or in our “music” room. Both have views of gardens and the weather, there is usually a dog at my feet. If other people are in the house then I probably won’t be in the kitchen. People distract me from my thoughts, whether they are talking to me, or just moving around the room. I guess noise distracts me.

I like to mull over things before starting to write. Some things are straightforward. Describing where I sit is not a challenge, but using a quote is. So I often start with a blank page and just the title, sometimes I might go with the flow but usual I leave the titled blank page and do something else.

I write on my laptop. I have often written on backs of envelopes, I like to recycle things. As I get older, it gets more difficult to hold a pen for any length of time and presumably because of the pain, my writing gets more unreadable. I also end up with piles of musings all over the place. I am often impressed by what I have written in the past, and to a certain extent, rediscovering the thoughts at random times is fun. I do however live with a person who needs a tidy environment, so piles of scribblings is not to be encouraged. My laptop is light weight and efficient in battery use, so it can go pretty much anywhere with me and capture my musings. It’s also rather a neat bit of engineering that appeals to my inner geek.

Strange then with all this portability that my usual place to write is at home.