The Woes of Over Researching

Last semester, I was sitting in my mass communication class listening to a guest speaker. I managed to compile six pages worth of notes for the “take-home” assignment; however,  there was no take-home assignment. Uh-oh!

My professor stood in front of the class and told us that we had the remaining hour to write a report on the guest speaker’s presentation.

I nearly choked on my breath. An hour!? I needed much more time than that. I had to mull over the information, slap together a rough draft, and edit it until I thought it was acceptable (I say acceptable because, in my eyes, everything I do can be better).

You can bet your left arm that I was stressing.

But I eventually realized that I was wasting time worrying and just started to write. In the end, my report came out great!

I know what you’re thinking: That’s great, Desiree, but what does this have to do with creative writing and over researching?

Don’t get testy.

My point is that some writers, me included, wont commit a single word to a page unless they’ve thoroughly researched a subject (for fiction, I’ll usually research things like plot theory, character technique, or whatever else). Sure, research is awesome! It can make you feel super-uber smart (and who doesn’t want to feel that way?); but it can become an elaborate reason to not write.

Eventually, enough is a enough! Research must be cancelled so creativity/writing, not editing or fact checking, can take the stage.

 

Can you relate to my experience? What’s your view on over researching?