so... while i'll be at as many write-ins as possible, that leaves 5 other days of the week that i need to find someplace to write - because if i go home, there are too many distractions. what are your fave places to write in town? (regardless of neighborhood.)
some of mine:
winning coffee - university area
annapurna chai house - university area
the restaurant at the aquarium
st. james tearoom - though only with some extra $ and a notebook and paper
flying star & satellite - all over town
----------
byronicwoman
~mad, bad and dangerous to know~
40,000 / 50,000
Okt 29, 2009 - 16 27
I gotta go with Bosque's library, or the new building with the big fireplace. Home is nice too, but here's some of the other places I chill out at.
ABQ Uptown, either the Nestle Store, Borders or if my parents feel generous, Marcello's. Piggy backing off the Apple Store wireless to get research on the fly is so nice.
----------The Monterey Inn on Juan Tabo, just across the street from my dojo. The atmosphere is great for the, "secret meeting in the pub" scenes.
My dojo works when fight scenes or kids are involved.
Lastly, Starbucks and Flying Star.
Number VII: The Demon Dancing in the Moonlight
2006: Lost Heaven - winner
2007: Shadow in the Sun - close but no, will rewrite eventually
2008: Wind Over the Ocean - winner
2009: Star on the Morning Tide - In Progress
40,000 / 50,000
Okt 29, 2009 - 16 27
I gotta go with Bosque's library, or the new building with the big fireplace. Home is nice too, but here's some of the other places I chill out at.
ABQ Uptown, either the Nestle Store, Borders or if my parents feel generous, Marcello's. Piggy backing off the Apple Store wireless to get research on the fly is so nice.
----------The Monterey Inn on Juan Tabo, just across the street from my dojo. The atmosphere is great for the, "secret meeting in the pub" scenes.
My dojo works when fight scenes or kids are involved.
Lastly, Starbucks and Flying Star.
Number VII: The Demon Dancing in the Moonlight
2006: Lost Heaven - winner
2007: Shadow in the Sun - close but no, will rewrite eventually
2008: Wind Over the Ocean - winner
2009: Star on the Morning Tide - In Progress
52,021 / 50,000
Okt 29, 2009 - 19 59
Great post! I am new to Albuquerque, so these are great suggestions!
So far in my less than a month of experience, I have to agree with Flying Star and Winnings. I'm also a fan of Sunshine Cafe on Mountain as well as Hard Back on San Pedro/Lomas.
----------49,497 / 50,000
Okt 30, 2009 - 02 23
If you're willing to pay for a coffee now and then, there are a lot of good places. As long as you buy something, Flying Star is great. But I think it's totally unethical to freeload on Flying Star's Internet connection if you're not buying anything.
I don't have the money to buy coffee in order to repay the Internet provider for the courtesy of the connection. I also consider it unethical to freeload. Since I teach at CNM, I use that connection as much as I can.
If home is just plain too busy for you to get anything done, look to your nearest branch of the public library. The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library system has about 20 branches, so there's sure to be one in your neighborhood. You can park yourself in a study carrel (a desk with sheltering walls all around) and be undisturbed. If you have a library card, you can also check out books that you can use as research material for your novel.
If you have a laptop with sufficient battery life to let you work away from the grid, you can, weather permitting, work outdoors and get away from the hassles of life. I like the Duck Pond at UNM, Elena Gallegos Park in the Sandia foothills (good for writing, no wi-fi), and Elephant Butte Lake State Park (good wi-fi near the major marinas).
----------Carol Anne
04: The Magnificent What?
05: Murder at the Community College
06: Murder at the Yacht Club
07: Murder at the Family Reunion
08: Murder at the Little Theater
09: Murder on the Sports Desk
38,998 / 50,000
Okt 30, 2009 - 04 59
For a while I practically lived in the Satellite Coffee at Alameda and Coors. It's my favorite place to write in ABQ. Other than that, I'd say Frontier at night (so it's less busy), Winnings (of course), and Zimmerman Library. The basement of Zimmerman Library is soooo quiet.
Uptown Borders is ok, I guess. It works? The high windows make for some serious sun blinding issues, though, depending on the time of day.
I'm sure I'll think of more later. I've always got a laptop, notebook, iPod, etc on me, so I can pretty much write anywhere...
----------NaNoWriMo '08: Ashes of an Empire (win)
ScriptFrenzy '09: Mikara Falling (win)
NaNoWriMo '09: Missing
37,885 / 50,000
Okt 30, 2009 - 09 26
oooooo... has anyone written while on the railrunner? could be pretty awesome. and definitely a resource for interesting characters.
----------byronicwoman
~mad, bad and dangerous to know~
7,563 / 50,000
Okt 30, 2009 - 17 20
Let me see....the best places for my writing are the Flying Star Downtown, the Downtown public library in one of the study rooms - I get a lot done there but I can only go on Saturday mornings - and Annapurna's seems to work out pretty good but haven't been there too often.
I have tried to write on the Railrunner but I was too distracted - it was my 1st time. The ends of the train have tables between the seats to set a laptop. Also, it didn't have wi-fi at the time. I've heard that it's coming.
52,409 / 50,000
Nov 1, 2009 - 02 46
Y'all a bunch O' Southerners...
I agree though, The Flying Star, is great, The wife and I write there frequently. But we are at the Bernalillo store, some times we take the noon train up to Santa Fe, and write until the 5 or 6 o'clock return train.
Regards,
----------Gunns
My other Ride weighs 500 tons
http://www.nmslrhs.org/
38,998 / 50,000
Nov 1, 2009 - 09 09
I haven't tried on the Railrunner, but I have written on the Blue Line 790 Rapid Ride. Since it takes about half an hour to forty-five minutes to get across town on it, at least some writing can get done. Headphones that have some form of noise canceling are a must, because it is noisy on there.
----------NaNoWriMo '08: Ashes of an Empire (win)
ScriptFrenzy '09: Mikara Falling (win)
NaNoWriMo '09: Missing