Question about writing from a real place - coffee shop or laundromat?

I was at a laundromat in Portland last month waiting for my clothes and saw this guy writing in a notebook for like an hour. It got me thinking about where we get our story ideas from. Some people say coffee shops are the best for people-watching inspiration because of the chatter and movement. But laundromats have this quiet desperation vibe that feels more real. Which setting do you think gives better material for a story - a busy coffee shop or a slow laundromat?

2 comments

2 Comments

alexj9921h ago

You know what, last month I was at this coffee shop in Seattle that had this weirdly specific rule - no laptops after 3pm. So everyone was just sitting there staring into space or reading actual paper books. It was almost too quiet for people watching, like everyone was trying too hard to look interesting. But then this old dude walks in with a laundry basket full of what looked like receipts or something, starts spreading them out on the table, and I swear he was writing a novel about dry cleaning tickets. The desperation factor at the laundromat is real though, I've seen people cry over lost socks there that they'd never cry over a spilled latte.

simoncarr17h ago

Makes me wonder if @alexj99's receipt novelist ever found the missing sock to complete his plot, guess some of us are still looking for story ideas in all the wrong places like my attempt to write a thriller based on my last laundromat visit which just ended up being a sad story about a lost dryer sheet.