Short cuts or the long way round?
Short cuts - who doesn't like a way of getting to A and B quicker? Well, as a writer it can be a false economy, burning up fuel in a breathless dash, rather than stopping to enjoy the countryside along the way. Ok, enough with the car metaphors, I hear you say. But the point I'm trying to make is that the slog of research, of getting to know your material inside-out is unlikely to be a wasted trip, however many wrong turns you take (yes, I know that's another car metaphor. So