The Two-Letter Secret that Protects Your Writing Flow
You're writing a chapter of your book, and everything is going well. You know what you want to say. The words are coming easily. Your thoughts are clear, and you're making real progress.
Then you reach a sentence that needs a statistic.
You know the statistic exists because you've seen it before. You might even remember approximately what it says.
But you can't remember the exact number, so you stop writing and open your browser.
You find an article that looks promising. It links to another. That article mentions a study you haven't read, so you open another tab.
Twenty minutes later, you're still researching.
Your manuscript hasn't grown by a single word, and you've completely lost your train of thought.
Sound familiar?
This is one of the easiest ways to derail an otherwise productive writing session and it happens because you're trying to do two different jobs at the same time.
Research is an important part of writing a good nonfiction book. Your readers deserve accurate information, properly attributed quotations, and claims supported by credible evidence.
But that doesn't mean you need to research every missing detail the moment it appears on the page.
There's a simple technique that can help you keep writing without losing track of the information you still need.
All it takes is two letters.
Meet the Bigram, your Two-Letter Placeholder
In linguistics, a pair of consecutive letters is called a bigram.
Some letter combinations are extremely common in English. Think about pairs like TH, HE, or IN.
Other combinations are extraordinarily rare. That's where this little writing trick comes in.
Choose a two-letter combination that's highly unlikely to appear naturally in your manuscript.
My recommended combination is:
QX
That's it.
Two letters.
Whenever you encounter a piece of information you need to research, type QX into your manuscript and keep writing.
You can add a short note explaining what you need to find, or simply use QX to mark the missing information.
Why QX?
Because it's an unusual letter combination that's easy to recognize and easy to search for later.
When you finish writing, search for QX.
Every instance points you toward something you deliberately marked for research or verification.
So instead of stopping your writing session whenever you encounter missing information and sideline your momentum with research that can wait, you create a visible marker and continue writing.
Let me show you how this works.
Example 1: You're Missing a Statistic
Imagine you're writing a chapter about why aspiring authors struggle to finish their books.
You want to include a statistic about manuscript completion, but you can't remember the source or the exact percentage.
Instead of stopping to find it, you write:
According to QX, approximately QX percent of aspiring authors never finish their first manuscript.
Then you continue developing your point.
Later, when it's time to research, you know exactly what you need to investigate.
You need to establish whether credible data supports the claim, find the original source, and verify the numbers.
And here's something important.
What if you discover that the statistic you've heard repeated for years doesn't actually have a credible source?
You remove it.
The placeholder doesn't give you permission to publish an unsupported claim.
It allows you to postpone the investigation until your scheduled research time and stay in flow.
Example 2: You're Missing a Quotation
Perhaps you're writing about persistence, discipline, or the importance of completing the work you've started.
You remember reading a quote that would strengthen your point, but you can't remember the exact wording or who said it.
You write:
As QX once said, "QX." That observation illustrates the difficulty writers face when they confuse preparation with progress.
And you keep going.
When it's time for revisions, you'll need to confirm the quote you remembered actually exists, verify the wording, who said it, and determine if it supports your argument.
You may discover that the quotation was misattributed. You may find that its original context changes the meaning.
Or you may decide your own explanation is stronger without it.
That's fine.
Your first-draft job was to preserve the direction of your argument without getting sidetracked.
Your research job is to make sure the final version is accurate.
Example 3: You're Missing a Historical Detail
Let's say you're explaining how changes in publishing created new opportunities for independent authors.
You know there's a particular development you want to discuss, but you can't remember the date or the exact event.
You write:
In QX, the publishing industry experienced a significant shift when QX changed how books reached readers.
Then you continue explaining why that development matters to your reader.
Later, you research the actual event, establish the correct date, and verify that the historical evidence supports your explanation.
If it doesn't, you revise the passage.
You haven't sacrificed accuracy. You protected your writing time while preserving a clear reminder of what still needs work.
Follow These Five Steps to Use QX in Your Next Writing Session
Here's the process I recommend.
Step 1: Choose your placeholder.
Use QX consistently throughout your manuscript.
Don't switch between several different 2-letter combinations. One is enough, and consistency here makes your later search a lot easier.
Step 2: Mark missing information as you write.
When you encounter a missing fact, statistic, date, quotation, or reference, type QX.
Whenever possible, add a brief description of what you need.
For example:
QX: verify publication date
QX: find original research study
QX: check quotation and attribution
These additional words make the research task easier when you return.
Step 3: Keep writing.
This is the most important part. Don't insert QX and then open your browser anyway.
You've identified the missing information.
You've marked it so you can find it later.
Now return to the sentence, paragraph, or chapter you were writing and stay in flow.
Step 4: Schedule your research separately.
Set aside time to return to those placeholders.
That might happen after you finish the chapter, at the end of your writing week, or during a dedicated research appointment.
The important thing is that you deliberately make time to complete the research.
Step 5: Search and resolve every QX.
Use Find to locate every instance of QX.
Research the missing information, verify your sources, and replace the placeholder with accurate content.
Before your manuscript moves into final editing, search for QX one more time.
Your goal is simple: Ensure no unresolved placeholders remain in your manuscript.
Every Rule as an Exception: Sometimes You Really Do Need to Stop and Research
There are times when you absolutely should stop writing and do the research.
If you're making a claim that forms the foundation of your entire argument, you need to know whether that claim is true.
If you're explaining a passage of Scripture, you need to understand its meaning and context before building your teaching around it.
If you're writing about someone else's experience, you need to verify what actually happened rather than fill the gaps with assumptions.
And if the missing information determines whether your chapter is even taking the right direction, postponing that research may create more work later.
Use QX for missing supporting information, not for foundational questions you haven't resolved.
There's a difference between knowing what you want to say and needing a source to support it, and not knowing whether what you want to say is true.
Learn to recognize that difference.
Protect Your Next Writing Appointment
The next time you sit down to write, try this technique.
Before you begin, intentionally decide that you won't interrupt your writing to chase down every missing detail.
When you need information that can responsibly wait, type QX and move on.
Keep developing your ideas. Finish the paragraph. Finish the section. Keep moving through your chapter.
Then return to those placeholders during your research time.
You might be surprised how many more words you get on the page when you stop asking your brain to switch between creating and investigating every few minutes.
The purpose of a first draft is to get the words out of your head and onto the page.
Your first draft doesn't need to contain every verified statistic, quotation, or historical detail.
It needs to give you something complete enough to research, evaluate, revise, and strengthen.
And those two little letters can help you get there.
Mark what you don't know yet. Keep writing what you do know. Then come back and finish the research.
Your readers deserve a finished, accurate book.
Give yourself a writing process that helps you produce one.
Your Next Step: Build a Consistent Writing Rhythm
A simple technique like QX works best when you have writing appointments scheduled on your calendar.
If you're struggling to establish a consistent writing rhythm, Writing Power Hour can help you protect your writing time so you steadily build the momentum that leads to completed manuscripts.
It's free and includes daily writing reminders, video encouragement, a monthly Ask Me Anything call, and Manuscript Math training.
