Here in this small town where I live, we have one Starbucks. When I lived in Hawaii, there was an SB on every corner. I could easily get to one without much effort, and I did perform the SB experiment there: could I write more if I were in SB, without internet connection (because I won't pay for day surfing)? The answer in Hawaii was yes.
And I guess my blonde self didn't quite internalize the facts. Because, just yesterday, I performed the experiment again. After such a sucky Monday, I thought I'd try something different. When facing a problem with the WIP, it's veerrry easy to say, “I'll just click over to email or Facebook, etc, while I think about this.” An hour later you realize you've forgotten the problem and you've been checking out Parsons chairs at Target.com for twenty minutes.
So, after lunch with a friend, I headed for SB. I'd forgotten my iPod, which almost made me decide against the experiment, but I gave it a try anyway.
And I got work done. Duh. When you HAVE to stare at the WIP, and you can't click over to Target, your brain tends to work on the problem. I made it through one of the roughest patches of the story thus far — and though I actually lost closer to 3K words on Monday (didn't realize it until I counted it up yesterday), I made up a lot of ground. I wrote 2K sitting in SB, without an iPod, while at least one little girl threw a huge mini-diva tantrum (seriously, foot stamping and hollering that it wasn't fair and she wouldn't eat it, etc, and all because her dad bought her a different cookie than the one she wanted).
I may have to go back to Starbucks a lot before this book is due. I wonder if the IRS will accept latte deductions?
Does the Starbucks Effect work for you? Or do you have the discipline to shut off the internet access at home? I wonder if telecommuters have these issues. What do you think? I bet they get a certain amount done because they'd obviously get fired if they didn't — but do you think they check out websites more often than they would in an office? Hmm….
Starbucks. Books-a-Million. Barnes & Noble. Atlanta Bread Company. Getting away does wonders for me. Only problem is, I can get free wifi at BAM with my membership, and at the Bridge Street B&N you can surf off the wifi from Cantina Laredo. Since I have AT&T internet service, I can get 2 hours a day at Starbucks too. And Atlanta Bread just has free wifi.
The trick is to not click on the connect button. I guess that's why it's better to take my AlphaSmart since it has no internet capabilities.
Headphones and music are a must. I have to drown out their music and the little diva temper tantrums. I always take a jacket too. I nearly froze in SB one day.
Good luck with the WIP.
“Small Town?” Which one, the one in which you reside at 36,000 people or the one just next door at 150,000 people? 😉
Sorry, having spent time in towns of 500 I had to chuckle at that description of your (very lovely) locale.
Disconnect from the internet!?!?!
But, but, stuff will happen and I won’t know about it.
I got a chuckle out of the ‘small town’ comment too. What small town? 😉
Seriously, I don’t know how you guys can write at Starbucks. BAM I can imagine, but I’d be afraid someone would be looking over my shoulder or staring. I have to be far away from anything that reminds me of the modern age.
Now if I could write in a museum, that would totally off the charts!!! 😀
PM, did you have to tell me about the Cantina Laredo wifi? *g* You mean we get free wifi at BAM with the discount card for books? Did I need to know this?
Mark, sweetie, when you’ve lived in Washington DC for a decade, and other big cities like Honolulu, THIS is a small town. But I do love it! (500 people? No way. That’s TOO small for me!)
PC: Amen sister! That’s me. But it worked, so perhaps I will have to force myself to disconnect more often. 🙂
Kathy: see the comment to Mark. *g* Writing in a museum could be cool!
Imagine writing in the Tower of London, or next to the Titanic’s exhibit. Oh! Oh! The POTC stage/backlot. Yes. Oh, yes!!!
Heck, Kathy, what about any German castle? You’ve probably been to a ton of them. I always thought it would be cool to have a desk in the stacks of the LOC and write there. The stacks aren’t open, so no one would disturb you with browsing.
German Castles would be great. Or how about Dracula’s castle in Romania. Oooh! I bet you could get some really good vampire vibs there.
I took a humanities class in Germany at Frankfurt High School. We got to go to wonderful castles during that time. I’ve got pictures in a trunk somewhere. Hmmm. It may be time to drag them out. 😉
Yep. If you have the BAM Millionaire’s card, you not only get a discount on your books and coffee, you get free wifi in the stores equipped with it. The BAM at the Parkway and University has it. Not sure about the store out near you or the one on Airport Rd.