I met a writer at the SCBWI NY conference and almost every week since March we have been meeting up and writing together at Diesel Cafe. Finally this week, after many weeks of fighting students for tables near plug points, we decided to change locations. Today we moved to Bloc 11, Diesel’s sister restaurant in Union Square. There were plenty of tables and new sandwiches to try. The ambience is definitely more laid back and less “cool” than Diesel, whose “coolness” always did seem a little bit forced to me. Anyway, I hope it doesn’t start to get too crowded as the weather improves, but the annoying construction around Somerville Ave (which isn’t very loud from inside the restaurant) may help ward people away.
It’s very funny to be lost in my thoughts, far away on a beach in India, and then return to my surroundings, a modern, clean cafe in Somerville, MA. Even though a cafe seems like an unlikely place to work, I feel like I’m not nearly as productive at home as I am when I’m sitting in a cafe with all the ambient noises around. It does definitely help to have someone to write with, though. Someone who is expecting you to show up, but isn’t wholly dependent upon you being there. My writing buddy and I go sit, drink coffee or lemonade, and type away; we chat for a bit to catch up, but then we get straight to work. We are good writing buddies because we don’t spend the time talking to each other, mulling over word choices and plotlines aloud. I have read some of her writing on her website, and it’s all very good, but I think there is some value to the fact that we haven’t read each other’s stuff extensively. We are both in critique groups, but not the same one. Maybe that’s why it works so well. That’s my working hypothesis anyway.
Phew. This was a long blog. to make up for it, here’s a cute baby elephant picture from BBC:
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