The idea of needing to brainstorm a topic before researching is a problem of Academia, not of the process of writing.
Our goal should be to consume whatever content that inspires us. To write down ideas that an author presents in our own words and bring it into our ecosystem. As we tag more and more notes we will see this part of our ecosystem grow. The topic finds itself, it’s simply our job to write. To be inspired by what we consume and write to our hearts content. Not to copy
Taking smart notes is the key to breaking this cycle.
Poor notes lead to topic anxiety and a fear of the blank page and filling it.