Right now my research and programming go hand in hand. Saving all sources and notes in a database proved to be a very good idea. Adding new sources to the database is easy in Adminer.
Whenever new additions are made to the database, it’s a matter of seconds to compile a new bibliography file via my Python script.
Now I write, and write. Texts, notes, ideas, chapters, structures … poor out. The database is a major tool in the creative work. Quotations are made via the ID in the database. Since the value is unique there are no conflicts in the bibtex file.
In the actual texts its a matter of adding @wp_81 – or whatever the id of the relevant source may be.
All my texts are written in markdown. I can compile the texts to .pdf, .epub, .docx etc. via a Pandoc script i bash.
With this “toolbox” it’s easy to write the academic dissertation.
Right now the writing process is in a phase of “write-out”. I don’t care to finish anything. It’s like drawing a sketch on paper. But when the chapters are compiled – it turns into a report, with all the academic features: lists of content, notes, and a very precise academic bibliography.
I never thought, that writing and programming were related in this way. But it’s a fact: programming and (academic) creative writing are related.