One of the biggest rabbit holes I’ve fallen in over the course of writing Journey Bound has been world-building. With that comes a great deal of research. While it is necessary to make written work sound as believable as possible there is such a thing as too much research, too much world-building. I have found that when conducting research there is a point where I have to stop myself from going further and just write with what I have. World-building is not plot, it is details, and when I have been spending so much time troubling over them I am, in fact, stifling my writing process. My progress stagnates, and I have nothing to show for all the information I have gathered.
I have journals and a file box full of notes and outlines for anything from locations and character-backstory to the origins of the Meadow (a mystical plane of existence and creation too complicated for me to get into now) and which magical crystal corresponds to which character best. The biggest set back ends up being my tendency to overthink.
All of this has taken years off my life. The crystal work in particular was done over the course of about three months that I spent looking at specific stones individually and matching their meanings in meditation, meanings found in a book, to character traits and then double-checking that information with what I found online. This, of course is not even the full extent of what madness I have inflicted upon myself when thinking about the uses of crystals. Transportation, magical power-ups, and even communication and tracking have all started to appear under the newfound banner of Crystal Magic. Though even with all these impactful uses for this one piece of research I have conducted, the truth is that the majority of this information will not appear in my books and will have little bearing on the plot.
So why do it?
If you are me the answer is simply: I am afraid of plot holes, therefore I need to have an answer for everything. Especially if the question is one no one is going to ask. There is a reason this book has taken me eight years to write. In getting so wrapped up in the details and worrying far too much about what sense other people are going to make of my work I was stunting myself.
My advice to other writers out there is to have room for research because it is invaluable to your work, but at the same time recognize that the true significance of it is in the story being told. I have been a firm believer in the ‘puking-out’ approach to creative writing, wherein your first step is simply let loose everything in your head just to get the story on paper and worry about refining it later. It sounds surprising for me to be so on board with this given my problem with world-building, but I never said I was any good at practicing what I preach. When I do manage this, it does its job beautifully. My mind is unclogged and free to work out any kinks as they appear in re-reading. I love doing this just so I can stop being in my own way, and also to let out my crazy in a structured, socially-acceptable way.
For other writers I know this problem is not limited to me. The fear of leaving a question unanswered, a plot hole unfilled is far too real for me to rest easy, but it’s important to remember that no one will be able to point out these (often unnoticed) problems if the story is never written. Allowing yourself the space to create is more important than having all the answers. Get your story out of your head. Details are for your next ten drafts.