[HN Gopher] Tokyo's Manuscript Writing Cafe won't let writers le...
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       Tokyo's Manuscript Writing Cafe won't let writers leave until they
       are finished
        
       Author : mellosouls
       Score  : 159 points
       Date   : 2022-04-13 09:32 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (grapee.jp)
 (TXT) w3m dump (grapee.jp)
        
       | nabla9 wrote:
       | Douglas Adams would have loved this. His editor put him into
       | motel with a typewriter and sat next to him until he finished.
       | 
       |  _" I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as
       | they go by"_ - Douglas Adams
        
       | lucisferre wrote:
       | The coding cafe version.
       | 
       | 1. Upon entering you must write and demonstrate one failing test
       | 
       | 2. The manager asks you if you want someone to pair program with
       | you
       | 
       | 3. You are not allowed to leave until the test is passing
        
         | bad_alloc wrote:
         | The test:
         | 
         | bool halts(function) { // todo: do not halt if function halts,
         | halt otherwise. }
         | 
         | assert(halts(halts));
        
       | markus_zhang wrote:
       | On a similar line, I kinda think prison is a good place for deep
       | learn and work if the environment is safe and one is allowed to
       | bring books and equipment in.
        
         | Jtsummers wrote:
         | You don't need a prison, many kinds of retreats (not just
         | religious or spiritual, but artists and writers retreats and
         | others) often are "tech-free" (which may be partial or total,
         | though usually at least _internet_ free). Just getting away
         | from the firehose for a couple days can be very effective for
         | resetting your relationship with the internet and its ability
         | to distract for a while.
        
       | wolpoli wrote:
       | This Cafe uses traditional waterfall framework with fixed scope
       | but flexible timeline. I will be opening an agile writing
       | environment with time-boxed duration. There will be all your
       | favorite ceremonies such as Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint
       | Review, and Sprint Retrospectives.
        
       | nonrandomstring wrote:
       | Fascinating. Terrifying. Alluring. I may need this service some
       | day.
        
       | karaterobot wrote:
       | > 1. Upon entering the store, write down at the reception desk
       | how many words and by what time you are going to write your
       | manuscript.
       | 
       | > 2. The manager asks you every hour how your manuscript is
       | coming along.
       | 
       | > 3. You are not allowed to leave the store until you have
       | finished writing your manuscript or writing project.
       | 
       | Sounds like a cute idea. I wonder what would happen if you
       | decided you wanted to leave before finishing. Do they berate you?
       | Do you lose a deposit? I imagine you can't hold customers hostage
       | or trap them in your cafe if they actually want to go.
        
         | warning26 wrote:
         | The article notes you can choose your level of PRESSURE when
         | you sign in -- perhaps trying to leave with a higher level of
         | pressure selected would get you angrily berated, while at the
         | lower levels you'd just get a mild chiding.
        
           | EGreg wrote:
           | What's the highest level look like? Maybe chained to the desk
           | or sumo wrestler blocking the doorway?
        
             | trinovantes wrote:
             | I think that only happens in Anime e.g. Shirobako
             | 
             | In real life that should count as kidnapping
        
             | leeoniya wrote:
             | "Keep writing, you worthless maggot!"
        
               | LoveMortuus wrote:
               | _Says a cute 12 years old girl who claims to be 300
               | because she 's actually a vampire_
        
         | atoav wrote:
         | I mean it is japan. If we go with the cliche, it would be hard
         | to find any japanese writer who would choose social
         | emberassment over actually doing the job. Especially if they
         | chose to buy into this thing themselves.
        
           | grapeskin wrote:
           | Nah, people will just sternly say "I need to leave" and go.
           | They're not ants.
        
         | stocknoob wrote:
         | You might have missed it, the cafe is at the back of a sumo
         | arena.
        
         | dfxm12 wrote:
         | _Do they berate you?_
         | 
         | Would love to know the interview/training/standard operating
         | procedure for this position.
        
         | echelon wrote:
         | Hold a deposit. You can break the glass if you really need to
         | make an exit, but make it painful.
        
         | klenwell wrote:
         | Great example of a commitment device:
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment_device
         | 
         | I like the idea of losing a deposit.
        
         | teraflop wrote:
         | Yeah, according to the cafe's website, they don't physically
         | stop you from leaving. In fact, one of the FAQs specifically
         | says that you can leave temporarily if you need to. It's just
         | that they won't allow you to pay your tab unless you've reached
         | your goal.
         | 
         | As others have said, it's about the social pressure. I doubt
         | the question of "can we legally enforce this rule" was a major
         | concern.
        
       | endisneigh wrote:
       | Not a bad idea for a small tractable set of discrete tasks to be
       | completed.
        
       | victorclf wrote:
       | Very refreshing to see this innovative idea after all the daily
       | politics/apocalyptic news here.
        
       | elliotpage wrote:
       | You see this kind of thing with Manga Authors too, except in
       | those cases the authors editor comes to their residence and
       | stares daggers at them until the manuscript is ready.
       | 
       | That being said the most often place I have seen this is within
       | manga itself, so this maybe the incidence rate is actually low
       | and the authors who draw this into their series are either
       | traumatised or just passing along a story!
        
       | _just7_ wrote:
       | Has anyone else had any luck with creating artificial
       | accountability? Kind of miss the days where I had to show my
       | progress to someone, be that my teacher or parents
        
         | ars wrote:
         | There's a startup that did this, they posted on here about it,
         | but I can't seem to remember how to find them.
         | 
         | Found this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20220288 but
         | they don't seem to have survived.
        
         | SamoyedFurFluff wrote:
         | Coworking sessions are great ime. People come in with some
         | project they want to work on for the next 2 hours and every 30
         | or 45 minutes the host checks in on everyone and everyone says
         | what they did or didn't accomplish, everyone does a little yay
         | to every accomplishment even small ones each check in so it's
         | all dopamine. I've seen this model successful in multiple
         | definitions of craft (writing, coding, painting etc)
        
         | post_break wrote:
         | Use a laptop, leave the charger at home. Get your work done
         | before the battery dies. Depending on the computer this could
         | be stress inducing or no big deal.
        
         | jaqalopes wrote:
         | I'm working on a book and I drafted a number of friends as
         | "alpha readers" to whom I send every chapter when it's done.
         | While I'm not on a strict deadline, the desire to demonstrate
         | to them that I'm "still making progress" has been massively
         | helpful.
        
         | mellosouls wrote:
         | There are a few low-cost services that have been mentioned on
         | here before that provide the accountability thing, eg
         | Focusmate, Boss As A Service, etc
        
         | iooi wrote:
         | There's gyms that charge you more the less you show up.
        
       | breakfastduck wrote:
       | So basically simulating the environment of sitting in a
       | university library all day until you have to submit a piece of
       | work at midnight, while 100 other people all sit and do the same
       | around you.
       | 
       | Very good idea. Works like a charm.
        
         | sharkweek wrote:
         | I miss those nights of social studying at the library on
         | campus. The mood was stressful sometimes near finals but it was
         | kept light enough with breaks to get coffee and snacks with
         | friends, was a good time in life.
        
           | TecoAndJix wrote:
           | Few bonds are as strong as shared misery!
        
         | chrischen wrote:
         | I think it's more like simulating a work environment where s
         | helicopter boss is checking on you constantly.
        
           | n4bz0r wrote:
           | How about a work environment with... _BOSS HELICOPTER_?
           | 
           | https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tHBOcN_2Fp8/maxresdefault.jpg
        
       | rubyist5eva wrote:
       | Honestly, I could see this working really well for lots of things
       | which require deep focus. Even for programming without external
       | distractions part of me thinks this would be absolutely
       | wonderful.
        
         | drcode wrote:
         | The article suggests that the term "writing" is used in the
         | broadest way possible, including image editing, etc
        
       | MrLeap wrote:
       | This post fills my heart with joy. What a grand idea.
       | 
       | I'm making a creative writing game. It's been a goal channel
       | whatever techniques I can, even dark patterns, to help people be
       | more prolific writers.
       | 
       | Glad to see the real world is getting weird with that goal in
       | mind too.
        
       | markdestouches wrote:
       | I wish G.R.R.M paid a visit there
        
       | dr_dshiv wrote:
       | Sign me up!
        
       | shakezula wrote:
       | Would unironically love a version of this in my city. I would
       | probably use it a lot. My adhd would benefit greatly from a
       | strangers disappointed looks.
        
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       (page generated 2022-04-14 23:00 UTC)