When should you start to actually write your book?

By Dennis Mellersh

You have spent a lot of time learning about how to write a book, and now you are deep into the research or information preparation stage.

Planning and research, or information gathering, for your book are essential if you are to write with authority.

This holds true whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction.
 
As writers, however, we have to be careful that we do not spend so much time in preparation and research that we end up putting off for too long the process of actual writing
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But, how do you know when you have done enough research or information gathering for your book?

I have found that when I have done a considerable amount of research involving multiple sources for a writing project, that at some point the basic themes of the information I am researching start to repeat themselves fairly consistently.

In other words I start seeing the same ideas and/or facts coming up again and again as I continue in the researching process.

At this point I know that I have enough material to start the writing process.

I could spend even more time on research but that time would not yield much new in terms of insights, ideas, or facts, and my efforts would be better spent on actually writing.