How Research Killed My Blog Posts
That’s the nature of research – you don’t know what in hell you’re doing.–Harold “Doc” Edgerton
Photo courtesy of Richard Lawrence Cohen
Has this ever happened to you? You have a great topic for an article. So, you open your internet browser and type in a bunch of key words. You find several excellent articles on your brilliant topic and collect all kinds of useful and interesting facts, figures, and quotes.
Stuffed to the gills with information, you excitedly sit down at your computer, roll up your sleeves, and then…nothing.
You’ve got so much information running around your brain that you’re totally lost and overwhelmed. You vaguely remember having a premise for your article, but you don’t quite remember it anymore. If you ever had a hook, you’ve forgotten that too, and the whole article is dead in the water before you’ve even written the first word.
Okay, so maybe this hasn’t happened to you, but it’s happened to me several times since I started this blog this year.
Right now, I’m sitting on research for a handful of articles I had hoped to shape into blog posts, and while I continue to try to make sense of all the research on each piece, I’m getting nowhere. Sadly, every time I try and fail to make headway, I grow that much more ready to ditch these articles altogether.
So, where did I go wrong? How did my well-intentioned efforts at research end up killing my blog posts?
A Major Research Mistake
In an article at Writer Unboxed, scholar and architectural historian, Jeanne Kisacky writes:
At best, writing and research happen in alternation, with writing, not research, driving the train. Putting writing first puts you, the writer, back into the active, controlling role.
Kisacky’s statement highlights my overall mistake: I gave research a starring role in my creative process and relegated my own ideas to the scenery—so much so that I actually forgot them.
Kisacky concludes:
In the end, research gives you all the details, but until you start writing, in your own words and thoughts, it doesn’t get you anywhere.
And that’s exactly what happened to me. I ended up spinning my intellectual wheels, running around in circles, and failing to gain any traction.
My Mistakes and Strategies to Prevent Them
But putting research first was my first mistake. Now, looking back, I recognize I made several mistakes, and I could have prevented this problem with a few thoughtful strategies.
So, in an effort to spare you my dilemma, here are my mistakes and how I could have prevented them:
- I didn’t have a clear idea of my premise or even a hook. If I ever had a clear premise for any of these articles, then I’ve completely forgotten it. I could have avoided this problem by writing a clear statement of my argument or premise (what academics call a thesis statement). And I could have gotten brownie points for developing and writing a great hook in advance of my research.
- I didn’t outline the article or write a first draft. If I’d written a first draft before I started researching, then I could have left open those places where some researched facts, figures, and quotes might have enhanced the writing. Even an outline would have been helpful—I’d have a clear direction for my article, and even if the research veered my writing into new places, I’d at least have some structure.
- I didn’t hone my inquiry. Related to these other problems, I didn’t hone my research with specific questions or small bite-sized topics. Instead, I chose large, unwieldy subjects. Now, I know a lot about several broad topics. But paring down the research into small, useful parts is a greater challenge.
- I conceptualized one article rather than several. If I’d conceptualized several short, related articles, then the problem of having a large research topic wouldn’t be such an issue. As it is, I’m stuck, trying to shape lots of research into one little ol’ blog post.
Some Possible Solutions
Now that I know some of my mistakes, how do I salvage my articles?
My overall solution, which may or may not work, is to look at each of these problems and try to rectify them in some way.
Mainly, I need to go back and prioritize my writing and ideas. Just because I initially put the research first doesn’t mean I can’t focus on my own ideas. Now that I know better, I can take several actions:
- I can write out a clear premise and hook
- I can draw up an outline and write a draft that doesn’t include the research
- I can ask some specific, bite-sized questions and only focus on the research that answers those questions.
- I can break the research into parts and conceptualize several, related articles.
In other words, I can “forget” everything I know and start from a new place. What’s great is that when I’m ready to add quotes, facts, and figures, then I have them ready and on hand.
What’s next?
Hopefully, with some diligence and a bit of faith, I can get a handle on the research I’ve already completed and breathe some life into those blog posts. I really don’t want to give up on them. And I hate the idea of wasting all that time on research.
I’m still learning how to write a great blog post, and part of the research problem stems from my background as an essayist, academic writer, and freelancer. I’m used to researching articles—a habit that is largely unnecessary for blog posts.
So, what this dilemma teaches me is to lay off the research. My opinions and experiences are enough to make for a credible blog article.
The main solution and the moral of this lesson, then, is to trust—trust myself, trust my ideas, and trust the writing process.
Do you use research for your blog posts? If so, how do you incorporate it? What mistakes have you made or what do you do that works?
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Flickr photo courtesy of Richard Lawerence Cohen / John Althouse Cohen
12 Responses to “How Research Killed My Blog Posts”
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As a teacher and quasi-academic myself, I can soooo relate. It’s really tempting sometimes to hide our very selves, our voices, and the reason people want to read us behind research.
Thank you! Great work (as usual!).
~ Lisa
Lisa´s last [type] ..Ordinary Writing- Will Our Grandchildren Want To Frame Our Emails
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:32 am
Thanks, Lisa! Yes, I think it’s very easy to loose our voices to the voices of others. I’m so glad you can relate. It makes me feel that I’m not alone in this dilemma.
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You offer great tips on a familiar problem, Ami. I’ve faced a similar challenge with my historical novel in progress. As a former journalist, I won’t chide myself for over-researching. In my case, the solution seems to be understanding one primary thing: I’ve done the research and I can trust that its in my head and in my notes whenever I need it, but now I must let it go and return to simply writing. The bits and pieces of research that will help tell my story will rise to the surface when they’re salient. The research will give my story-soup a base and some spice, but will not become the soup itself. A bouillon cube with basil just isn’t appetizing. Thanks for the great reminder.
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:39 am
Thank you, Cara! I really love your analogy of the soup. And I think you’re right that ultimately the solution is to trust the writing process and to know that the research and our notes are there to utilize as we need. It’s that “return to simply writing” where I’ve gotten stuck with these posts. I’m still figuring out how to get back to writing my own ideas. Perhaps, that’s another blog post in itself. Thanks for your insights!
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I have a similar feeling about this. In my case, I’ve bought a lot of books on subjects related to creative work, idea generation, problem solving, productivity, etc. during the past year or so. While I really enjoy reading the stuff, I feel like I’ve been getting lost in it lately and it’s not finding its way into posts, articles or other projects.
This does bring up another interesting problem: if it’s more effective to start with your own hypothesis and research to find supportive evidence, what do you do when you start finding material that doesn’t support your hypothesis? Change the hypothesis? Easy to say, but if it’s a radical change, the thought of rework can be quite daunting.
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Cara Lopez Lee Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
You bring up a good point, Mark. When I can, I try to avoid the problem of hypothesis versus research by starting with an open question. For example, I’m currently working on a project in which I explore how I experience community and how a young homeless woman experiences community. I’m not forming a hypothesis yet. I’m interested in discovering the answer to a question: in what ways is our experience of community similar, in what ways is it different, and why?
Scientists, politicians, and engineers are expected to come up with answers and solutions. Authors, journalists, and bloggers are free to observe stories, ideas, and issues. Perhaps by the time we’re done writing we’ll have conclusions, perhaps we won’t. But if we don’t have answers, then that can start an interesting discussion. If you’re blogging, that’s not a bad place to be.
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:59 am
Good point, Cara, about using open-ended questions.
Your study sounds fascinating. I had a chance to read your most recent post. I appreciated your own personal story, and I find the question of how we build community to be intriguing. I’ll definitely be keeping up with your future posts. Thanks for sharing!
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:55 am
Mark, I know exactly what you mean. I too have read many books and articles on creativity, productivity, etc. I think the key to utilizing this type of general research and learning is giving ourselves time to let our knowledge marinate in our minds. I know that many of the ideas generated by my blog posts are ones that I’ve been thinking about for years. Also, I think we can’t really predict how these ideas will appear in our articles. There’s a way in which we unconsciously assimilate all that information, and it slowly shifts how we think and what we practice in our creative processes and thus what we write about.
As for the hypothesis problem, I think Cara’s suggestion to begin with open-ended questions is a good one. From my own dilemma, I’ve learned that simply stating one’s opinion is enough for a blog article. For a more in-depth essay, there’s room to assert your own opinions as well as arguments against it. In other words, for some essays, we’re able to simply present the debate, which really does make for a great opportunity for conversation.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. I’ve learned a lot just by thinking about your questions.
BTW, your blog is great! You offer some really interesting and helpful articles.
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Hi Ami,
The info you write here is priceless! Women find their solutions while they discuss the problem. You summed it up SO well.
This very same thing happened to me last week. I had started writing a short, and had a deadline. There was research to be done, and I found everything I was looking for. After accumulating the facts, I was ready to go back and finish the story, and found I couldn’t write from my right brain as I had been doing so much left brain research. I felt like a frog in a blender. Pure and simply overwhelmed.
I actually got away from the piece for a day, did some art work to get back into my right brain, and then I was able to sit down and write the rest of my story, and plug in the facts where they needed to be.
The trick for me now is to be able to move at will between my left and right brain. Once I learned that, I was fine. I agree with you on organizing the info you’ve researched, or that can be a big snafu to dig through a pile of papers while trying to create.
Also,listening to certains types of music while working help me get into the “zone”. It’s all such a wonderfully challenging existance, writing–research–I think that’s why one gets so addicted to it…we grow. hee hee.
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 8:05 am
Thank you, Marci! I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Your solution to take a day to do some art work is brilliant. Research and writing does requires us to use different parts of our brains as well as different skills. It’s wonderful that you’ve found ways to move easily between those skills.
And thanks for the reminder that writing and research is “wonderfully challenging.” I think when I get stuck, I forget that it’s good to have dilemmas because that’s an opportunity to grow as an intellectual and an artist.
I appreciate your input, and good luck with your writing.
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Hi Ami. As ever, your essays are terrific. I think you’re a Type A poet/person like me.
In the past less than twenty-four hours I’ve researched the original pantheist, Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake in the 17th century, the latest research on the c*******s, the favorite part of ourselves, which should be a perfectly acceptable word in everyday parlance (see my poem on SW later) the Big Bang theory, and the Mafia in Calabria, Italy. So, I know what you mean. But all of these things are clearly interconnected! A poetic Independence Day to you!~ J
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Ami Mattison Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 4:58 am
Wow, Jenne’, it sounds like you’ve been a busy researcher! And such interesting topics too! I also enjoy researching and learning; so, I totally understand. One topic starts to relate to something else, and that topic relates to another topic, and pretty soon everything seems interconnected in some way. Getting others to see those connections is the hard part!
Thanks for sharing!
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