#writingcommunity – Public Health Writing Program

Best Places in Boston for Winter Writing

By Sarah Thomson, Peer Coach Team Lead

As winter looms in Boston, we aren’t able to take advantage of some of our favorite outdoor studying and writing spots. However, there are still plenty of options if you’re hoping to stay productive as you move indoors. Writing in public places is also a great way to be social while getting your work done. Writing can be a lonely thing, especially when you have to tell your friends you can’t go out because of a looming paper. Sitting in café or library gives you a chance to be with people, have some casual social interactions, and get your work done.

We’ve created a list of some of our favorite indoor places to write in Boston and hope this list will serve you well throughout the winter months!

Boston Public Library (BPL)

While the central branch of the Boston Public Library is located in beautiful Copley Square, there are branches scattered across nearly all Boston neighborhoods so you’re never far from a BPL location. BPL has space to study, read, write and also offers research and library services to community members. It’s a great place to write when you need a quiet escape.

Cambridge Public Library

With your library card, the world is your oyster at the Cambridge Public Library. Take advantage of free WiFi, public computers, extensive space for studying, writing and reading and community meeting spaces if you’ll be working in a group. With multiple branches, this library system is accessible to anyone living or working near Cambridge and is accessible by public transit.

Alumni Medical Library

If you’re on campus, look no further than the Alumni Medical Library. Located on the 12^th and 13^th floors of the Boston University Medical School, you can take advantage of research services, book a study room, order/check out books and articles and sit wherever you’re comfortable. This is a great space for quiet productivity and the perfect campus spot to write and work.

Trident Booksellers and Café

Trident brands itself as your “third place”—not your home, not your workplace, but a place where you can come to drink coffee, engage in conversation, and get down to business. A Boston staple for the past 40 years, Trident is both a bookstore and a café and the perfect spot to grab a snack, a drink, and get writing. The cozy ambiance is a bonus, too.

JAHO Coffee

Conveniently located on Washington Street, JAHO is the ideal place for lovers of coffee, tea, bubble tea, baked goods, good eats and productive Sundays alike. The South End location is down the street from BUSPH, but you’ll also find JAHO in Chinatown and Back Bay. The Chinatown and Back Bay locations are a also wine bars (if you’re hoping to sip a spiked coffee while you work). If you’re feeling adventurous you can also visit JAHO in Salem, MA and Tokyo, Japan.

The Sipping Room by Breeze

The Sipping Room by Breeze provides a wide variety of teas and coffee directly sourced from Asia, and the drinks are fantastic for writers who like to sip while they work. The ambiance is also lovely, and the matcha tea is a must for those who venture to the Sipping Room.

Café Nero

This Italian-inspired coffeehouse is the perfect place to work if you like a bustling spot. Café Nero also has locations across the city (our favorites are in Fenway and Fort Point) and you’ll always be inspired by the people around you, hard at work, as the café is often busy. They offer delicious drinks, snacks, and a large menu of food items. It’s the perfect place to be in winter when the fireplaces are blazing.

Farmer Horse Coffee

Located on Massachusetts Avenue, this small local coffee shop offers quick service, stunning décor, and a variety of places to sit where you can get comfortable and start your work for the day. They also serve various drinks and snacks throughout the day. Their sandwiches are something special and this is a relaxing spot to dive into whatever project you’re working on.

Pavement Coffee House

Pavement Coffee House boasts eight locations in Boston and is independent and locally-owned. They sell a wide array of drinks, and you can purchase their coffee grounds to bring a taste of Pavement home with you as well. They make their own bagels in house, and patrons love the atmosphere here, while students frequent the various locations to write and collaborate with their peers.

Forge Baking Company

If you’re in Somerville or looking for a good destination for a walk across the river, check out Forge Baking Company. Always shifting art exhibits, great sandwiches and desserts, and the best mochas north of the Charles. The Forge owners have two other excellent cafés in Somerville: Diesel in Davis Square and Bloc 11 in Union.

Caffé Bene

You walk past it all the time, right on Mass Ave and Huntington (opposite the BSO), and up a short flight of stairs. One member of our team has been passing it for years and finally went in. The space is cozy but fairly large. You can get your beverages in actual ceramic mugs (just be sure to ask). And the ice cream desserts are massive. While there’s only one Caffé Bene in Boston, it’s the largest coffee house chain in South Korea. If you go there to work, you can imagine that you are part of a community of writers toiling away over hot drinks across the globe.

Meet Sarah Thomson, Peer Writing Coach and PH Writing Program Team Leader

Sarah Instagram Photo

My name is Sarah Thomson and I’m a second-year MPH student at BUSPH in the Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Infectious Disease certificates. I’m also working as a peer writing coach and serve as the peer coach team leader for the Public Health Writing Program.

I believe that clear, concise, and powerful writing has a place in every public health discipline. People often ask me how, as a quantitative type, I ended up as a peer coach and the team leader for the writing program. I came to BUSPH primarily to improve my quantitative skills, but hard evidence only makes a difference if our results are communicated clearly to the public.

I have always enjoyed the writing process and I value the power we have as communicators to change behavior and shift public opinion. I wanted to become a peer coach so that I could support others as they strengthen their written communication skills and find their voice through writing. Regardless of your interest area or what drew you to public health, strong writing is essential.

The most rewarding part of this job is the feedback I get from students, and the process of working together to take an idea and develop it into a powerful argument and commentary on the chosen subject. Something clicks when you hear your work read aloud by a peer, and I usually don’t have to tell students that something sounds convoluted because they can hear it as I read their work back to them. Even the most eloquent speakers have trouble translating their spoken statements into written ones. As someone who always reads my own work out loud to myself at my desk, I preach what I practice.

Before becoming a peer coach, I didn’t take advantage of this the Public Health Writing Program or our other writing resources as much I should have. I remember being a student in PH720, struggling to organize my thoughts and being intimidated by graduate school writing. Meanwhile, there was a whole team of students armed with knowledge, experience, and resources in the peer coaching office who could have guided me as I began my public health writing journey.

I encourage everyone, whether it’s your first semester or your last, to take advantage of the Peer Writing Coach Program. Everyone has something to gain from their interactions with our office.

Good news! The Public Health Writing Program has New Webpage and Social Media Campaign

The Public Health Writing Program has truly arrived. We've been working hard to support BUSPH students, faculty, and staff for the last six years.

But today marks the beginning of a new era. We are launching a new webpage and social media campaign. The days of creative Google searches and a lot of clicking to find all the writing resources we offer here at BUSPH are over. Visit our landing page to learn about the mission and scope of the Public Health Writing Program, writing and library workshops, our Peer Writing Coach Program, library resources and tutorials, resources for faculty and staff, and much more.

We want everyone in our community to write every day, to think of writing as a process and a practice (rather than a product). Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for writing tips, inspiration, information about resources, and constant encouragement to stop procrastinating and sit down to write.

I hope you will join us as we embark on this exciting journey. Think. Teach. Write. For the Health of All.

The Public Health Writing Program Has a Blog!

Welcome to the Public Health Writing Program blog, which I have affectionately titled, Think. Teach. Write. For the Health of All. Watch this space for regular updates on events and resources. This is also the place where I will post weekly musings about writing, language, reading, and more.

Let's build a community conversation about what public health writing is, why it’s important to think of writing as a practice and process (not just a product), how to overcome the many challenges we face when we sit down to write, how to get help, and why it’s important to reach out, share your work, and ask for feedback.