Day 620: An easier time getting myself to do research

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One of my (many) writing weaknesses is that I don’t like doing research. It’s especially hard to make myself do it when I’m anxious to start writing the book.

For previous books, I could usually get away with putting off research until the editing stage. Then I’d do any research that needed to be done and edit the prose as necessary.

But right now I’m blocking a book while writing another one. While blocking, I’m reaching a point where I really ought to do more research, and unlike previous books, now I don’t have to choose between research and writing the book. I don’t have to set aside the research in favor of the urgency of writing the book because I’m already writing one.

So after spending a little time blocking today and feeling a bit lost, I decided to instead devote some time solely to research. I think it will help with not just this book I’m blocking (volume 5), but also the one I’m currently writing (volume 4) and the other books in the series.

I had never expected that a side benefit of writing one book while blocking another would be that I have the time and stronger inclination to do research. Before, when I did just the outlining and/or blocking before I started writing the book, I felt a stronger temptation to put off the research because the urgency to get started on the book was greater. But now, the sense of urgency is gone since I’m already writing one book and the one I’m blocking is for later. This is a really good place for me to be, mentally. I feel like I have more mental energy to devote to both the outlining and research since I don’t have the pressure to get started and get words written.

Regency series:

Editing: Time spent: 0 (skipped editing today, I’ll do it tomorrow)

Writing: Time spent: 50 minutes

Writing: Total number of words: 550 words

Writing streak: 99 days

Blocking: time spent: 45 minutes

Blocking streak: 94 days

Hawaii series:

Outlining: time spent: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Time spent doing other writing-related business: 1 hour, 12 minutes

My takeaway for today: Research is MUCH easier to get myself to do when I’m writing one book while blocking another.

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