Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?

• You know you need to do some research for your book, but you have no idea where to start
• You want to write a book about a new topic, or a novel that takes place in a new setting perhaps, but you are so worried that you won’t sound authoritative or convincing enough, so you spend months doing research, never sure whether you’ve done enough
• You’ve just created a great plan, and doing research is in the plan, but when you start doing the research you can’t figure out if it’s helping you get anywhere
• You’re in the middle of your book, but run into a topic that you want or need to know more about. Weeks later you realize you have fallen down a rabbit hole of research and haven’t started writing again.

If you’ve ever found yourself in one of these situations, you’ve fallen into the research trap.

I define the research trap as “The act of conducting unnecessary research or conducting research in an inefficient or ineffective manner.”

The research trap can lead to aggravation. It can make you miss deadlines. It can keep your work from being the best it can be. But maybe worst of all, it can add up to weeks, months, even years, of wasted time.

So, that’s the goal of this episode: understanding the research trap, why people fall into it, and discussing strategies to avoid it.

The Weekly Writing Routine Workbook is now available at getyourwritingdone.com as well as Amazon and other major online retailers. The workbook is a companion to The 12 Week Year for Writers. It will help you develop a powerful, custom writing routine that fits the way you work.

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