I used to do a lot of my writing in cafes – long hand. Yes, I love the whole old-fashioned process of pen and paper. Notebooks, favorite pens, writing anywhere: at the beach, the doctor’s office, pulled over on the side of the road because a character is talking to me and I just have to get something down on paper right now. I love the immediacy, the simplicity, the physical act of writing and the way it connects my body to my mind and vice versa. This was easier when I was writing plays and could write a ten minute/ ten page scene in 90 minutes or so. Novels are so much more dense, so many more words per page, that I finally broke down and started to compose at the computer. I still do all revising longhand and can only really experience a manuscript when it’s on paper.
But I am always on the lookout for great places to write. Here’s one in New York City that looks like a sideways library — melding several favorite things: books, coffee, tea, writing, people watching.