January 26

1 comments

How Much Research is TOO MUCH?

Are you doing research for a book?

Do you worry how to balance “research” and “writing”?

If so, I made a new video for you.

This is the second video in my free training series: How to Write a Low-Stress Draft.

(If you missed it, the first video of the series is here — “How to Create a Writing Schedule.”)

Both videos are offering advice on the same topic: how to write your book more efficiently and with less anguish.

Watch the video to discover:

  • The “two minute rule” for Wikipedia
  • Why it’s good to embarrass yourself
  • The “category error” many writers make when they write
  • How to divide your research into three distinct stages
  • How much research is TOO MUCH?

A lot of my readers are working on a book.

In our conversations over email, we’ve discussed the most common problems they (and I) have been facing.

“Staying on track” is a problem that came up a lot. “Over-editing” and “worrying it’s not any good” were also very common complaints.

This series is my advice for writing a lower-stress first draft.


Watch the video, and then tell me what other questions you have.

It’s focused on novelists, but everyone trying to write a book may find the ideas useful.

Let me know what you think. I’ll happily answer your questions in the comments.

Yours,

Daniel


Tags

life1, writing1


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  • Really excellent advice, Daniel — well-considered and expertly expressed. At some point, you’ve got to confront the fact that you’re writing a novel, not a textbook, and research — though useful and something I myself conduct in great detail — has to take a backseat to storytelling. As UCLA screenwriting chair Richard Walter is so fond of saying, “Factual truth should never trump emotional truth.”

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