I’ve told you before how I wind up working in public places sometimes. You know, the coffee shop, the pool while the kids are in lessons, on the back porch of a rented beach house. Basically, I try to grab whatever time I can grab without affecting my family and hop on that laptop and write as fast my little fingers will carry me. The sight of the laptop often leads to people ask me if I’m able to get WI-FI there.
When I say no, the conversation often turns to asking me what I am working on then. Until recently I’ve been making the rookie mistake of telling the truth. It has taken me several fruitless, interrupted writing sessions to realize that when I tell someone I’m writing a book, people often take it as an invitation to plop down next to me and either inform me what kinds of books they’d like me to be writing, or to ask me a series of questions about structure and whether I have an editor and a publisher and, hey, they’re a writer too, and would I please read their work for them. And… scene.
Learn from my example, people. It doesn’t matter how politely and patiently you say “Go away and leave me alone you freak — can’t you see I’m trying to work!?”, it just seems to come off rude to some people. But if you still want to try to write out there, do yourself a favor and make it sound as uninteresting as possible. When they ask what you’re doing, do NOT tell them that you are writing a book. You’re reviewing a friend’s thesis paper. You’re going over some technical specs from work. You’re editing a dry, dusty historical document. Something ennui-enducing. Blah.
If you can’t bring yourself to lie, then tell ‘em you’re just trying to catch up on some work. Well, it’s true, right? The downside of the truth, however, is that it may lead to follow-up questions about what kind of work you do and whether you are often asked to bring work home. I know because this has also happened to me.
You who write in public – what techniques do you have to allow you to write in peace without having to insult the occasional curious passer-by? Any tips? Drop me a line below.
But such is the risk of trying to write in public. If all else fails, you can always just shut the laptop and enjoy the conversation. It’s not as productive, but it can be nice, too.
