Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

Steve has posted about the danger of wasting too much time on "research" when you should be getting the damn words down on screen. By research I think he means such things as I did yesterday, when I spent 20 minutes trying to find out whether Russelville, Arkansas is a direct northern drive from San Antonio or whether you have to go more northeast. Creative writers can sometimes be at their most creative when they're finding ways to avoid writing. I've done it myself, and my problem is compounded by the fact that I do write a lot of non-fiction where research is often the biggest allocation of time.

I do allow myself to do some research as I'm working on a fictional piece, but I use quick sources such as Wikipedia and put in marks to indicate that I need to check these things more closely later. The internet has been such a boon to researchers (although you have to be careful of its "facts" sometimes), and for me has also increased the fun level of that research. It's so easy to click another link, follow another trail to another fascinating tidbit. But down that way lies madness... or, uhm, at least procrastination.

In other news, both my new home computer and my new office computer are up and running and all is well with my little world. Now, if I can just keep from "researching" all those new bells and whistles that I'll never need.