Starting Anew, or: Researcher’s Block Is a Real Thing

Last week, I finished the first draft of my second novel — the one I mentioned in my post about writing out of time — and it was a relief. But there was no downtime for me: I sent it off for feedback and dove straight into setting up my next project. Scrivener template, character names, profiles, the works. But when it came time to actually write, I hit a snag.

Because I am a total nerd, it turns out that I love the research part more than the writing itself. Don’t get me wrong; I love writing. I love putting the stories inside my head down on paper and sharing them with the world. But I can spend ages — usually at ungodly hours of the night — diving into character backgrounds, finding the perfect names, even creating profile images. It’s like building the foundation of a house; exciting and full of potential.

Given this, it’ll sound odd when I say that in the planner/pantser divide, I tend to be more of a pantser. Yes, I like to know my characters, and sometimes note down certain story beats that involve a certain character, mostly so I don’t forget. But while I always know my characters very well, I don’t know where they’re going, what’s going to happen to them. I have no outline; just a starting idea, maybe an inciting incident, but not much more than that. The story will come to me as I write it.

And that’s the problem. When it comes to putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, I find myself struggling. The blank page stares back at me, and suddenly all that excitement fizzles out. It’s like I’m more interested in the pre-production than the actual execution.

I’ll start strong, all eager to get going. But then I’ll get distracted, scrolling through articles or watching documentaries related to my story instead of actually writing it. It’s frustrating, knowing I have all this material ready to go but struggling to turn it into a cohesive narrative. My first novel took me two years to write — and that was just the first draft. It took two more years to have a polished draft that I felt comfortable sending out queries for. The second novel came fast, but that might be the exception that proves the rule. Because now I’m stuck. Word count: zero.

Still, I’m not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Perhaps this is just part of my process. Maybe I need to find a way to channel that research energy into my writing somehow. After all, the characters and their stories are what drew me in to begin with.

It’s not that I never noticed this tendency; I know I have a science brain, and I know how it works. With my first two novels, I was able to use that to my advantage, and that led to smoother writing. I’d get lost in the flow of it, characters coming to life on the page, their stories unfolding before me like a movie.

But the research aspect, it’s like a treasure hunt. Digging through historical records, designing visual aids, piecing together the puzzle of my characters’ lives. And the best part? It’s all fair game. I can spend hours delving into any topic that catches my interest, whether it’s the history of a certain time period or the intricacies of a particular profession. I’ve even found myself going down rabbit holes on the most obscure subjects, all in the name of “research.” (How goes that joke about the FBI flagging my browser history? Yeah, accurate.)

Then comes the hard part: actually translating all that research into a coherent story. It’s like trying to fit together a thousand-piece puzzle without a picture to guide you. I’ve got all the pieces laid out in front of me, but how do I make them fit together?

I get so caught up in the details, I forget about the bigger picture. I’ll spend hours perfecting a character’s backstory or researching the minutiae of a historical event, only to realize I haven’t actually written anything substantial.

It’s a frustrating cycle. On one hand, I’m fascinated by the research process and all the little nuggets of information I uncover along the way. But on the other hand, I know I need to buckle down and actually start writing if I ever want to see this project through to the end.

So where does that leave me? I’m still trying to figure that out. Maybe I need to set the project aside for a bit, separate from my research sessions so that my brain can “clear its cache,” so to speak, and then come back to it later with fresh eyes. Or maybe I need to keep trying to write, learn to trust my instincts more and not get bogged down by the details.

Either way, I’m determined to make it work. I’ve come too far to let a little thing like writer’s block (or researcher’s block, as the case may be) stop me now. After all, the thrill of seeing my characters come to life on the page is worth all the frustration in the world.

Maybe one day, when I’ve fully decoded my process, I’ll look back on this struggle and laugh, wondering what all the fuss was about. Right now, I’m still figuring it out. But that’s all part of the fun, right? Maybe one day I’ll find that perfect balance between research and writing. Until then, I’ll just keep chugging along, one word at a time.