People often ask about my writing process.
They want to know where I write, when I write, whether I outline before I begin, what software I use, or how many cups of coffee it takes to finish a chapter.
Those are fair questions. We’ll get to some of them in this series. But before any of that matters, I think there’s a more important question every writer needs to answer:
Who are you writing for?
I’ve found that once you answer that question, the where, when, how, and even the software begin to matter a whole lot less. Let me explain.
I Have Two Writing Offices
One has bookshelves.
The other has baristas.
My favorite place to write is a room in our home. It wasn’t always there. My wife, Shari, and our daughter Emily—with a lot of help from her partner, Lu, my brother-in-law Mike, and my sister Diann—transformed what had once been a closed-in patio into what has become my writing laboratory.
Most days, that’s where books are written. Theology gets wrestled with. Sentences get crossed out. Coffee gets brewed… and reheated.
But a few times every week, I pack up my laptop and drive two minutes down the road to Starbucks.
Not because I love Starbucks coffee. (I don’t.)
And certainly not because I love Starbucks prices. (I really don’t.)
If Panera ever opens within thirty minutes of my house, Starbucks may never see me again. Until then…
The truth is, I don’t go there because it’s quieter than home. I go there because it isn’t.
There’s something about sitting in the middle of ordinary life that reminds me who I’m writing for. Stories don’t begin on my laptop. They begin across the room—in conversations, in laughter, in tired faces, in quiet acts of kindness, and in people simply trying to make it through another Tuesday.
I write for the retired couple who never miss their weekly coffee date.
The college student cramming for tomorrow’s exam.
The exhausted young mom hoping for twenty uninterrupted minutes before heading back into the beautiful chaos of family life.
The DoorDash driver grabbing one more order before lunch.
The business professional whose phone never seems to stop buzzing.
The baristas who somehow remember everyone’s order—and still manage to smile while making it.
They’re the reason I write.
The staff knows me now. They’re mostly young adults just beginning to build their lives. They’ve always been kind and encouraging toward me and my work. In some strange way, I feel like their local writer in residence.
Every book I’ve written has started in my writing room. But every book has been shaped somewhere else.
In coffee shops.
Hospital rooms.
Church foyers.
Restaurant booths.
Long talks with friends.
Conversations with people carrying burdens they never expected to bear.
Because writing, at its best, isn’t just about finding the right words. It’s about paying attention to people. It’s about loving them enough to listen.
The keyboard is simply where the listening becomes words.
Writers Write is a free resource here at DarinMichaelShaw.com for writers of every level and every season. If you love the written word, I hope you’ll stop by often, join the conversation, and tell me a little about your own writing life.
Storysmithing Services is where I come alongside writers who have a story to tell but need help getting it across the finish line. Whether you’re starting with a notebook full of ideas or a completed manuscript that needs shaping, I’d be honored to help you turn your story into a finished book—and into the hands of the people who need to read it.
DARIN MICHAEL SHAW 