Hobo Espresso

Coffee Shop Theory

Working in the coffee shop is the perfect place to people watch, and there are many reasons why that’s a good thing when you’re an aspiring writer. For one, it’s great when I am having trouble conceiving feasible dialogue for something I might be writing. After listening to a decent argument or three I know just how to approach that scene which has evaded me forever.

The best reason for people watching, though, is to see all those little things which you so easily miss about people. Those hidden, private things which you can only notice by spending hour upon hour staring at people’s faces. Since starting work at this coffee shop I’ve learnt how to tell if certain kinds of people are lying, and that the guy who comes every Monday afternoon has a problem with his receding hairline (I also know he knows that I know what he knows and fears, because he often catches me staring at his forehead). I have also learnt that none of the waitresses actually like one another, and that someone is stealing the tip money, but that’s another story. The main thing is that you get to learn things: because of people watching I am now an expert on sharks, how to arrange flowers properly and Tattoo removal , to name but a few things.

If I had my way all aspiring writers would be made to spend a year or two in a cafe serving coffee and staring at the world around them. I’m pretty sure that if that happened we’d have a new generation of impressive novelists upon us in no time.