As it turns out, crowdfunding is a lot of work. Truth is, Inkshares snuck up on me. It’s a service that I wasn’t aware existed and when I heard about it on Sword & Laser, along with the contest ending on May 31st, I jumped right in. Luckily, I already had some materials ready because of some prior promotions for The Life Engineered. Still, this kind of self-promotion is something I was unprepared for and there are a lot of things I did not have prepared and still do not fully understand how to handle. I got into this because I love writing, not because I enjoy selling myself.
Despite all that, I think I’m in a relatively good position right now, though it feels fragile. The good news is, I’m working on more stuff that will not only help with the promotion of this crowdfunding effort, but serve as a bit of entertainment for those who have already offered their support.
In the meanwhile, I thought I’d explore another writing cliché: Coffee shops. You know where I’m going with this. You walk into Starbucks or your favorite local fair trade caffein dispensary to order a quick wake-me-up and, as you look around, you notice ‘them’. They sit at all the tables, noses buried in laptop, often festooned with stickers. Their orange-caramel-double-espresso-pumped-machiato-grande long gone as they stare at their Facebook account and surf Wikipedia in a separate window. They say they’re writers, but we know better don’t we? If they wanted to write seriously, they’d be home, in a calm, semi-professional environment where they could concentrate on their book instead of going out to show off at a coffee establishment. Posers.
Well I did, and still do, the coffee shop thing. I tried it for a full week a couple of years ago to try and get a better understanding of it. To my surprise, it’s actually a perfect place to write. That is to say; I get it now. Not being at home means being away from domestic distractions. I don’t have access to my toys. I can’t pretend to be productive by taking on some other tasks like laundry or washing the kitchen floor. I don’t waste time cooking myself elaborate meals or digging through the kitchen for snacks. The small table at the coffee shop forces me to be efficient with what I bring. I can easily isolate myself by listening to music on my earphones and if I need to eat, I don’t waste any time cooking and instead I can get a sandwich or cookie right there at the counter. Best of all, the dynamic environment is actually conducive to creativity. Movement stimulates the brain. If I need to come up with a background character all I have to do is look around. Just sitting there, observing strangers and trying to come up with their back stories is interesting and helps with the process.
While I’m sure there are plenty of ‘writers’ who still go to coffee shops to stare down blank pages, dreaming of being an author but without having to do any of that pesky writing, I’ve come to accept that most of these people are there because this is the most productive version of an office available to them. I understand that now. I am one of them.
