Those who know me will already be aware of the fact that I like pubs. I like the ambience, and I enjoy a beer. I also like to write in pubs. It's a great source of inspiration, and the environment, combined with the alcohol, brings out my creativity.
Some writers might struggle to write in a pub, but that's personal to them. Every writer has an environment they prefer to write in. For me, it's the pub. But not just any old pub. It needs to possess a few specific qualities.
Firstly, it has to be a "pub" and not an awful gastropub. Nothing robs me of my creativity more than a gastropub. I want to put my writing gear on the table in front of me. My laptop, my notepad, some notes. I don't want to have to move a menu, place mat, cutlery and condiments to the side. I want to feel relaxed in my environment, and I don't want to be made to feel unwelcome because I'm not eating a meal. As an aside, I also hate drinking in a gastropub if I'm out on a pub crawl with friends. Soulless places where the bar staff don't really seem to give a shit about you.
Secondly, there has to be some people in the pub. They provide the background noise, the chatter, something to listen to when I'm searching for inspiration. Writing is a lonely pursuit, and for me, it's nice to know that there are other people in the world while I'm writing. But there must also be this caveat. The pub cannot be too busy. I don't like people sitting on the next table when I'm trying to write. I don't like the pub to be too crowded.
Thirdly, it must be a pub where I don't know anybody, where friends won't disturb my creativity. The first pub I used to write in was the Hit or Miss in Stamford (this has sadly closed for good). All was fine initially, because I didn't know anybody. But then people started to talk to me, I'd engage in conversations, and finally, some of the regulars became friends, which precluded me from writing in the pub because I never had any free time away from people I knew.
I'm struggling to find a pub which fits all of these criteria. I live in a village, so it's difficult to get to some of the back-street boozers (the ideal places to write in) in the nearest city, Peterborough. My local town, Stamford, no long possesses back-street boozers. They've all closed down. The pub in the village (a village which in the past was home to three pubs) was once a good venue to write in. Just up the road, within walking distance, served a good pint, and whilst it also served food, there were plenty of comfortable seats for a writer to utilize. Sadly, new tenants took over and within a few days it had been turned into a gastropub. Gone were the comfortable armchairs, and in their place, table upon table laden with cutlery and menus. The bar still served a good pint, the locals were still friendly, but for a writer seeking inspiration, the ambience was gone and the environment unwelcoming.
Of course, during October, I didn't touch a drop of alcohol, and was still able to write, so I don't specifically need alcohol or a pub to write. But it's still nice to be able to do that. On my travels to London and York recently, I discovered a few little gems, but of course they are too far from me to commute to!
Shortly, I'm hoping to be able to drive once more, and I'll be able to travel further afield, but naturally, getting behind the wheel of a car will preclude me from consuming any alcohol. Nevertheless, the ambience will still be an inspiration. And for 2014, I want a lot of inspiration because I have lots of ideas for books and I want 2014 to be far more productive than 2013 has been. So if you know of any nice, warm, friendly back-street boozers close to where I live (or ever further away), drop me a line!
