Thus far, I’ve spent more time researching sports facts and trivia than I’ve spent creating puzzles. Research is addictive, as I think most non-fiction writers will attest. It’s a little like gambling or gold panning: You never know when you’ll hit the jackpot, or find that fabulous nugget of info that will propel your work to greatness.
Eureka! Hi, Millard!

I suppose it’s also a bit easier than creating original text, in my case puzzles, though I like to claim otherwise. I mean, which would you say is easier: clicking around the internet and reading, or creating something fun, interesting, clever, and accurate from nothing? There’s no pressure in clicking and reading, but what I create will be judged. So maybe I drag the research out longer than is strictly necessary to avoid the real work.

But research is also fascinating and distracting. Who wouldn’t click on a link about the World’s Strongest Boy? (Is that really healthy for a kid?) And who wouldn’t want to know more about Jenn Stuczynski when you hear she’s the third-best performer in women’s pole vaulting history after practicing the sport for just 3 years?! And how, exactly, did I get from NCAA football to cream of broccoli soup? Hmm. I wonder if I can work cream of broccoli soup into a football puzzle…well, of course I can, but will I?