Writing in restaurants

I am writing in my journal at Starbucks and someone leans over me and asks: "Is that your diary?"

"No." I answer, but I regret it already. Normally no one bothers me when I write in public. He is smiling at me and expecting something to explain what I am doing. "I am writing a letter." I say.

I write in my journal or notebook everyday and most of the time I am just practicing; but sometimes I get tired of being alone and go to places where there are people. There are a lot of people who do that and many use a laptop. I like to write by hand and it is so much easier do it that way. I know the man who was asking me what I was doing was just trying to be friendly. He had seen me in there before and later asked me if I would like to go out and have dinner with him. That does not happen to me anymore as I am a senior citizen. I thanked him but told him I had eaten already as I had. I eat one meal a day and drink coffee or tea the rest of the day. Occasionally I met with other writers and that works out better. We usually go to Denny's who does not mind our being there as long as we don't go during the busy hours. I often go at 2 or 3 am. Denny's is open 24 hours a day and the waitresses like regular customers there at odd hours.

I am one of the writers who have to write everyday. Virginia Woolf mentioned that she wrote most of the time in her notebook to practice as a pianist played the scales. I write in my journal and/notebook for the same reason and to record what was happening in my life. If I didn't, I would find the writing that I did on other projects harder to do. Now, it is so easy to write on these blogs because I am always writing in my notebook or journal. I had a relative who said I was a compulsive writer. Perhaps, but I love writing because it clears my mind and enables me to know what my mind is doing.

Woolf also recommends that a writer should allow all sorts of writing and not try to write well in their notebooks. Give yourself permission not to write well. This can be difficult for some writers to do. If you have to, write whatever you want and then tear it up or delete it. Just develop the freedom to write freely. I used to write and then destroy what I wrote and with this knowledge before hand I could feel free to write what I wanted to write. Soon, I did not have to destroy it.

I am in my room writing this, but I was at Whiskeytown Lake earlier today and wrote in my journal and enjoyed doing that while listening to some classical music. My phone plays music from a music service that I subscribe to. I was able to make a few phone calls and a friend called me. I ate a wonderful lunch from a new supermarket that now tells its customers what entrees in its deli case is gluten-free and which ones are not. It was also very beautiful out there too.

I think writers have the best jobs in the world. I am prejudiced. I enjoy what I do. I don't know too many people who wake up feeling good about doing what they do like I do although there are a few. I have several people I know who are writers and they love writing and hate it at the same time. I can understand that as there are aspects of writing that are pure torture such as book sales or even waiting to see if one's writing even sells. Some writers have writers' blocks and it isn't limited to writers for I know an artist of paintings who has painter's block. That can be especially difficult if you depend on your art to support yourself. I had a monumental case of writer's block before I went to Korea. I don't anymore. That part of being a writer sucks.

When you write in a journal, you are not writing to sell something. It does not matter if you have the right word or not. You just write what comes up and if you don't have anything you write I don't have anything. I have done that many times, but something always comes up even if it is the television show you watched last night. I like to practice writing descriptions of things as I feel I am poor at it. When I was a kid, I liked in Southern California and remember seeing everything covered with ice one morning and wrote it in my journal. I also said so to someone as I have never seen anything like it. The girl who was from Colorado said: "That is frost, Stupid." I was amazed. I never saw frost before. I didn't like what she said to me but we did remain friends for a long time as she became a science fiction writer and artist. She also never lost her rather jaded outlook on life. She died years ago and I still miss her, but I still hear her hard remarks ever so often.

I must sound like a broken record because I have written how important it is to write everyday. If you must be around people, write in restaurants. As I said, Denny does not mind as long as you are there during the off hours. Certainly Starbucks don't mind. I write in parks and see writing being done there all of the time. Write at home or in the tub. Just do it so it fits your lifestyle.