Coffee Confessions

I recently attended Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in lovely Black Mountain, North Carolina. This event is like Disney World for a writer like me, and it is always great to catch with old friends, make new ones, and, oh yeah, get some writing instruction.

For many years I have attended BRMCWC. Could we get a few more letters in that abbreviation?

“Pat, I’d like to buy a vowel.”

Anyway, this year, more than any other, I noticed the hot place to be (pun intended) was Clouds Coffee Shop on the Ridgecrest campus. Every time I passed the shop it was packed with writerly types, and, if they weren’t in the actual place, the attendees were walking around with Clouds cups in their hands.

I have a confession to make . . . I don’t like coffee.

YIKES! Are you really a writer??

Many times I have read that writers thrive on coffee. They drink it all day long. They craft bestsellers while sitting in their favorite coffee shop.

I just don’t get it. If I drank coffee like some of these people, I’d be up all night and in the restroom all day (Sorry, TMI).

If I tried to write in a coffee shop, I would be incredibly distracted by the people, the decorations, the baristas, you name it.

I’ll have a large cup of Adult ADHD, with a touch of extroverted sass thrown in.

Coffee shops, especially at a writers conference, are gathering places—sites to laugh with friends, to pitch new ideas, to dissect lessons learned in and out of classes. I get that, and I actually met some friends right outside the shop to socialize on a few occasions.

I also realize God calls different types of people to write. We are all made in his image yet are unique. I may not write in the same genre as you nor drink the same beverage as you, but, like you, I’m dedicated to sharing the Good News with a hurting world that desperately needs it.

I hold nothing against you coffee drinkers, as long as I don’t have to drink your favorite beverage. More power (and caffeine) to you!

Now, does anyone have vending machine change? The Diet Pepsi is calling my name.