7 ways working from my local coffee shop makes me a better writer

Most days, in between school runs, you'll find me tapping away on my keyboard but from time to time, especially if I've finished a sizeable piece of work for a client, I'll escape from my desk to the welcoming hubbub of my local coffee shop.

Surrounded by fellow coffee drinkers and with a flat white before me, I'll switch off the office-mode and indulge in some much-needed and unadulterated creative time.

Here's how that little space of caffeinated freedom helps me to be a better writer.

1. It forces me to exercise my memory and my imagination

After a shoulder injury a couple of years ago, I can't manage the weight of a large handbag pulling me off balance. Instead, I use a small cross-body handbag. This forces me to pare back what I carry around with me. My large writing notebook is out of the question, as is a tablet, never mind my laptop. Instead, I have a small notepad and a handful of pens.

I could use the cafe wi-fi to access the internet but I'm always a little paranoid of using free wi-fi because of security issues. So instead I'm forced to draw from my memory of whatever piece of creative writing I'm working on at the time and my imagination.

This means that I can write freely without worrying about whether this is fitting in with my writing plan, and intuitively pull in anything new that my muse throws into my imagination.

2. Writing by hand

I love to write by hand but it's always tempting to type my writing straight onto the computer when I'm at home.

In the coffee shop, with my pad and pen, writing by hand is the only option.

The effect that this has is to write more freely, with less checking back over my what I've written.

I also feel what I'm writing when I write by hand, experiencing the fright of a chase or the joy of discovery.

Perhaps this is just me, but at the end of a writing session I take a joy in flicking back over the number of pages I've filled. Did I create all that? Why, yes, I did.

3. Less distractions

In the coffee shop, I can't be distracted by social media (remember, I'm not using the coffee shop wi-fi to go online) so I'm not tempted to check Facebook or Twitter.

I can't see the ironing pile, or the messy lounge, or the beds that need making, so I don't have that nagging voice in my hand that I should break off to sort those.

And if I'm on my own, which I generally am on these coffee shop breaks, I don't have to worry about referee-ing my teenagers' squabbles or planning out finances with my other half.

I can just get on and write.

4. People watching

I can't write and drink my lovely coffee at the same time - that way leads to spillage - so when I break from writing to take a sip, I put down my pen and have a look around.

On occasion, I will see someone who for whatever reason attracts my attention. It could be a mother who is having a conversation with her toddler. Perhaps it's a one-way conversation, so not really a conversation at all, just a mum giving a monologue to her wee one on how  he shouldn't throw his toast on the floor or that buttery fingers really aren't appropriate for winding through long curly locks, or that Mummy really needs to drink her coffee now.

Whether this inspires me to create a character or a scenario for a story, I jot it down.

5. It gives me time to think

Modern life is busy and demanding. Sometimes it feels like I'm constantly on the move, from getting up on a morning to finally going to bed at night. Even when I sit down to eat, it's always with the thought that after this, I have to do that.

Having a break in the coffee shop allows me to flush out all those thoughts of what I must do, and replace them with thoughts I want to have instead.

It might be throwing around elements of my story, thinking about the latest news, deciding what to wear on that night out, or just letting my mind lead me to wherever, without feeling guilty that I'm wasting time.

6. Reading

The busier I get, the more reading time feels like a precious luxury. On occasion, I read before going to sleep on a night but for the most part, I'm either late in heading up there or exhausted, or both.

Evenings are taken over by ironing, meal-times and catching up on emails. Weekends are crammed full of housework, family visits and food shops. Where's the time to read?

So time spent in the coffee shop allows me to read, guilt and distraction free.

7. Time to be just me

Life is about the roles we choose to play. I'm a mum, a wife, a lover, a friend, a confidante, a taxi driver for my teens, a writer, a freelancer, a neighbour and so much more that I have chosen to be.

I love my life but all those roles put demands on me. I'm not alone in that, I know. We all play out the roles we have taken on.

Time in the coffee shop, on my own, means I can drop the roles, even the writer role because who knows what I'm scribbling in my pad other than me? I can just be me, without demands or expectations, and that freedom in turn informs and inspires my writing.

So there, you have it. Who knew that a coffee shop could be so inspiring? What about you? Where do you go to take a break, or write, or both?