Writing with Research with Kristen B. Neuschel (2025)
Writing with Research argues that writing and researching are intertwined, even simultaneous, processes. It is built on the conviction that non-fiction writers can trust their starting point. This means using writing, from the beginning, to reflect on the compelling idea you’ve got or the research problem you’ve identified, what you know about it, and how you might approach researching it. The long road to a finished creation is writing all the way down: in freewriting to capture thoughts; in notetaking, formulating research questions and hypotheses, locating and retrieving information, and in honing arguments in writing; in giving talks and releasing drafts to readers; and in discussing findings and corresponding with collaborators, lab partners, editors, and readers. Trusting your starting point means that you do not need to bring yourself up to speed on a topic before process-based writing and research can start. The linear model of research first, followed by the writing up of results, is wrong. The process of writing with research is recursive, and you can start at any point. Writing with Research guides you through rethinking your non-fiction writing by putting writing first.
Reviews
“No matter where you are in your nonfiction journey, you will think and work differently after reading this book. It captures the gestalt of our enterprise with empathy, insight, and a raft of sound advice.”
Elizabeth Fenn
Pulitzer Prize‑winning historian, University of Colorado
“Equally inspiring for students and professors, Writing with Research covers every aspect of research‑based writing. Neuschel and Rasmussen shine in their discussion of notetaking as a fundamental part of the writing process, and offer invaluable tips on how to find time to write in impossibly busy times.”
Toril Moi
Duke University
“An excellent guide for helping writers do what they need to do: write. This book helps established and aspiring writers break free from the linear model of writing we so often slip into and instead embrace the creative, dynamic process of writing as thinking.”
G. Mitchell Reyes, Lewis & Clark College
author of Global Memoryscapes and The Evolution of Mathematics