Writing at the coffee shop

I've been spending my days and nights in coffee shops over the past few weeks, working on my upcoming book about Avalon. Authors such as J.K. Rowling, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot and F. Scott Fitzgerald have written their novels from the comfort of a coffee shop, and I'm no different. The nutty whiffs of coffee in the air, the holiday-themed drinks, the twinkling Christmas decorations... Nothing enthuses me more to get some writing done. But going to a coffee shop also implies that I'll be concentrating solely on my book, and not spend my time creating blog posts, filling in e-mail interviews, or answering e-mails and blog comments.

I particularly love writing from the airport, especially at night, when departure flights are paused, and desks and halls are abandoned. Remember the scene from Stephen King's The Langoliers where, upon arrival, the airport bears no signs of life? That kind of abandoned. The airport's Starbucks is open all night, and, with only a handful of people at the most, it's an incredibly peaceful place to spin ideas for hours on end, especially around this time of the year when there are gingerbread lattes on the menu and Christmas music in the background.

The two-storey coffee shop Or in Brussels is my second favorite. I always go there in the afternoon during weekdays as it's quiet, warm, cozy, and because they serve fantastic chai tea lattes. Or is only a few blocks from my boyfriend's flat, which makes it super easy to include in my work schedule.

Finally, there's the Coffee Company in Brussels. This coffee shop is usually a bit too crowded, even on weekdays. But around Christmas, they treat their customers to a variety of seasonal specialty beverages such as Christmas lattes and hot orange juice spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. That definitely compensates for the noise.

Do you also love to work and write from a coffee shop? Which one is your favorite?

Have a wonderful end of the year!

Image source: David Giral