Typewritten Teacup

a little, quiet corner.

One of the great things about living here in Park Slope is the plethora of places that one can go to for the sole purpose of creativity. I just spent most of this afternoon dividing my time between two such establishments, working on my novel. Which has started to get going again, in a major way. I have some more plot arcs to work on. I can see places where I'll have to develop more on the first revision. But I'm very excited at the prospect of actually being able to FINISH this thing by the end of the year. That's the goal. But, I digress.

I was always dubious of the whole "sitting in a coffee shop/diner working on my book" thing, until I tried it. I armed myself with my notebooks and headed out in search of food, tea, and a place to work. My first choice had been unavailable (totally packed) and I had completely forgotten about another place I'd wanted to try, I wound up at a little diner on a corner of 7th avenue that I happen to like (and know isn't crazy busy).

I settled into a booth, ordered, and set about working. All was grand until some mother brought her three whining, shrieking brats in. They weren't the ONLY children in the place, just the most disruptive, ill-behaved ones. There was another family with two adorable, well-behaved children that I barely noticed until the hellions arrived, but it became clear that despite a previously peaceful half an hour, I was going to have to get the hell out of dodge. I paid and left.

I tried the 7th Avenue Tea Lounge next, but uncomfortable couches and lots of conversation gave it only a slight edge over the diner. That, and a large, caffienated tea made a walk necessary.

I'm debating starting a list of places in the immediate area for this purpose. Secret, of course - I don't want to turn this into some kind of "Find Sharon" scavenger hunt, and I *do* have to get some work done, but I'm still hopeful I can find something that I can go to fairly regularly to get what I need.

What I need is somewhere close, and relatively quiet. I know that if I wanted near-total silence I could go to the library, but I would prefer a place where I could have food and a drink if I wanted one, and a comfortable level of noise - perhaps the sound of clicking laptops and the hum of quiet conversation. Tables (and a lack of toddlers) are a definite plus.

Stay tuned for the results of further research.

posted by Sharon @ 7:30 PM