Sit down and write -- research later
Write first, research later. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it helps you to write more and sell more. It's easy to get caught in the quagmire of research. You can collect so much material that you lose all enthusiasm for the project -- the more you collect, the more overwhelmed you feel.
For example, let's say you're writing a novel. Your hero is a cop. You don't need to know that much about his day to day working life. Write your story. Either research as you go, or research after you've written the first draft.
If you're writing a magazine article about a topic you know nothing about, create an outline before you begin to research. Your outline can be as simple as: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. As you research, write a first draft of your article.
