Novel drafting rule #5: No research allowed

During the planning stage of the novel writing process, you probably did a lot of research into your topic while you generated ideas and plotted your story structure. But now that you’re in the drafting stage of the novel writing process, all that needs to stop.

Stopping to do research during the drafting process of writing a novel can be a distraction and slow down your progress. Here are some reasons why you may want to avoid stopping to do research while drafting:

1. It can interrupt your flow: When you’re in the middle of writing a scene or chapter, stopping to do research can interrupt your flow and make it harder to get back into the writing groove. This can make it harder to reach your daily or weekly writing goals.
2. It can break your focus: Research can be fascinating, but it can also be a rabbit hole that leads you down a path of endless reading and exploration. This can cause you to lose focus on your original writing task, which is to produce a draft of your novel.
3. It can lead to over-researching: When you stop to do research during the drafting process, it can be tempting to keep researching and gathering more information, even if it’s not necessary. This can lead to over-researching and getting bogged down in details that may not be relevant to your story.
4. It can cause you to second-guess yourself: Research can be a great tool for adding depth and detail to your writing, but it can also cause you to second-guess yourself and your story. If you get too caught up in the details, you may start to doubt your own ideas and creativity, which can be demotivating and lead to writer’s block.

To avoid these pitfalls, it’s better to focus on getting your ideas on paper and worry about research later. If you come across a topic that you’re not familiar with or need more information on, simply make a note of it and come back to it later. Once you have completed your draft, you can go back and do research as needed, making changes, adding new scenes, and refining your writing until you are happy with the final product. But for now– no research allowed!