Regardless of whether you’re writing a novel, a how-to book, or a helpful blog post, you’ll almost certainly need to do some research before you start writing.
Robert McKee refers to research as “feeding your talent” and suggests “research not only wins the war on cliché, it’s the key to victory over fear and
it’s cousin, depression.”
I agree with McKee on the value of research, however, I hope what jumped out at you in the opening sentence of this email was the phrase before you start writing.
Way too often, writers try to mix drafting with research, which almost always leads to disastrous results.
Click here to learn what you should do instead.
Your pal in writing,
Kevin T. Johns, writing coach
P.S. Ever wonder what it would be like to study English Literature at Oxford University? In the latest episode of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Oxford undergrad and English tutor, Franciska
Csongrady. Listen now.
P.S.S. Today is the last day to get a free copy of my friend Jason B. Ladd's book, Book Review Banzai. Grab it here.
