Wednesday, September 04, 2019

IWSG: A Coffeehouse of One's Own

If September hath thirty days, then save the first Wednesday for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Check out their website or Facebook page for more information.

Thanks to Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martison, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine for co-hosting this month. The question we're supposed to discuss is If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

Since I'm focused on my current project (working title is Dryad in Doubt, the second book in an urban fantasy trilogy, about 27,500 words long as I write this post), I'm going to use this story for my answer. The heroine of this series is a dryad who lives at the top of Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus (see picture below for Victoria's tree):

My first thought was to write either on the steps of Bascom Hall (the building in the picture) for inspiration or to write in Memorial Union on campus to be on location. The first floor of the union can be noisy, however, and the steps would be uncomfortable. So I'm going to go with  my favorite coffee house in Madison: Michelangelo's Coffee House.  Although the address is on State Street, they have a back room and back entrance very close to the Concourse Hotel, where WisCon is held. (Yes, I miss not having gone the last couple of years. Maybe next year or 2021.) I've attended readings at Michelangelo's. They not only carry a good selection of tea but also have good vegetarian meals and desserts. I could find a quiet corner to write in and keep myself fortified during the process. When I need a break, I can wander around Madison and scout out scene locations. A shame I don't live in Madison. Anyone want to contribute to a GoFundMe so I can live in Madison until I finish this series? That might make school drop-off and pickup a little inconvenient, so I guess I'll have to write at home and at work (on my lunch hour) instead.

Where do you like to write? Do you have an ideal writing location? Feel free to share it in the comments.




6 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That sounds like a coffeehouse with charm!

Jan Morrison said...

Sounds delightful! My ms is set in Labrador and I'm home in Nova Scotia after five years being in that isolated place. I will just have to invoke it without being there...

emaginette said...

The coffee shop sounds pretty good to me too. Not for the location, but for the food. ;-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

P.J. MacLayne said...

I get to Madison every few years. I'll have to look up Michelangelo's.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Alex, it's always nice to visit independent coffeehouses.

Jan, I went to college in Madison and still consider it my home away from home.

Anna, food is always important for writers!

P.J., I hope you do!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Sounds like you'll just have to draw from your memory.

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