You know you're a regular when...

The barista at the coffee house rings up your noon o'clock beer without judging, hands you a frosty mug without being asked, and says, "Yes, please," like she'd like nothing more than to join you.  

As I've mentioned before, I've taken up residence in a coffee house that also serves beer and wine. It might possibly be the best idea anybody has ever had. You get the atmosphere of the coffee shop: it's quiet. People are working on their laptops or chatting softly. But I can also have a beer or a glass of wine while I work. It's like the ultimate powerhouse of awesomeness and inspiration. Coffee shops help me concentrate and so does beer. I've never been so productive in my life and still have time for Facebook. 

So, first of all, let me tell you that all writing books are the same. They tell you to have a schedule, a routine, to write everyday. They tell you to allow yourself to write really shitty stuff. And then they tell you to revise, revise, revise. Really, if you've ever tried to write anything, this is all stuff you already know pretty intuitively. What makes writing books different from each other is the personal touch the writer pours into it. Their own experiences. Their own admissions on how they failed to show up for their scheduled writing time because they were depressed or drunk or just plain lazy. I don't really read books on writing for the advice. I like to read books on writing to know that I'm not alone, that I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

So, one of my favorites is a book called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. And one of my favorite quotes says, "I wrote every night for an hour or more, often in coffeehouses with a notepad and my pen, drinking great quantities of wine because that is what writers do; this was what my father and all his friends did." Of course, Lamott goes on to tell her journey as a writer and perhaps suggests that drinking copious amounts of wine isn't all that great of an idea. However, I like to go back to this quote from time to time because she says "that is what writers do." That is what I do. I write in a notebook. I sit in a coffeehouse. I drink beer. And I don't do it because Anne Lamott says it's okay, and I don't do it because it's what I'm supposed to do as a writer. I do it because I am a writer.

So, I'll take being a regular at this coffee house with beer and wine. I'll sit here where nobody judges me for having a beer in the middle of the afternoon. I'll keep my hand moving across the page until it cramps up. I'm showing up for my part of the work so that maybe one of these days, the page will be graced with something that actually impresses the world. And until then, I'll be here enjoying my beer.