For a variety of reasons out of my control, I've been spending days and days working away from home. I've moved from one cafe to another in Manchester city centre, taking all my materials with me and scribbling in my notebook on a number of different projects.
I thought I'd share some pictures with you, of the various places I've sat this week and scribbled. I'm writing what I hope will be a novel, and a kind of memoir-y piece, and also something about the Dr Who Annuals. I've been out since before nine and don't let myself go home till tea time, when I've got a bunch of pages on all three projects. Completely whizzy on caffeine by then, of course.
Jo writes in cafes too. I can't do it, because I find myself tuning in either to the music or other people's conversations. Which is lovely and useful in its own way but for real concentrated writing time I need absolute silence, no internet, no distractions.
ReplyDeleteDid you find the buzz in the cafes distracting, Paul, or, like Jo, were you able to just tune it out and get into the flow of the writing?
ReplyDeleteI used to love all the noise and the distractions - and would end up writing about everything i could see and hear going on. But in recent years i've been used to working quietly at home. Recently, though, I've had to get away from the house - and I must admit, I find the automatic (i first typed 'authormatic') tuning into conversations really annoying now..! i just want to concentrate. But after a few days' practice I was managing to tune in and out at will.
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