New idea: The Writers’ Café

We got talking about this at our SCBWI North West meeting yesterday. We’d spent the morning critiquing and the afternoon enjoying a free-writing exercise. I personally now have fodder for three new short stories.

We have an interesting arrangement with Waterstone’s anyway, s o I guess their café should be in the Project. We have their events room for four hours. We all order coffee on arrival and lunch, which is delivered to the meeting room at 12.30. 

Wouldn’t it be nice though, if there were a café that provided prompts like the ones we were given? One where the whole atmosphere was conducive to writing. Maybe it could be “rent a table”, a little in the spirit of the Viennese cafes that inspired the Project in the first place. There is café already in Manchester that charges for the amount of time you stay there rather than for what you eat and drink. Would this be a model? Or a bit of both?

What else?

·         Perhaps Shaun Levin’s writing maps could be available. 

·         Notebooks, pens and other stationery on sale

·         A book exchange of craft books

·         Plenty of power sockets and nooks where you can work on your laptop or tablet

·         Events for writers

·         Reading groups

·         Writing groups

·         Book events

·         Networking opportunities for writers

·         Writing classes if there is an events room

·         Critique groups 

Do you have any more ideas? Do you know of a café that might like to become a Writers’ Café?

We talked as well of that way writers often like to work on cafes and indeed on trains. It’s a way of remaining anonymous but still being surrounded by people.  You feel as if you are still a part of things. Of course you still have real life on tap as well.   

Shall we give it a go?