“starting from a blank page” is a romantic fallacy
The idea that creativity “starts from a blank page” is a romantic fallacy. You can’t “pick a topic for research” out of thin air. You have to be inspired by reading and experience. Research cannot be Planned.
By taking smart notes, you will literally build up a collection of reusable blocks (aka Intermediate Packets) that you can utilize to jumpstart any writing project. The content of your notes even determines what type of writing projects you would undertake you don’t even have to pick a topic from scratch, because one will arise naturally aligned with your interests based on the notes you have taken about things you found interesting.
If you don’t have any work of your own to build off of, Imitation is a pretty good way to start.