Read a machinist forum post about this exact trick. Guy said going in from the clean side lets the chaser follow the good threads instead of cutting new ones, and it saved him from pulling a head.

Took me about a year to get a full day where the guy didn't cross my mind. The car show thing is a good sign, keeping busy with stuff you actually like is what got me there. Blocking the number was smart too, you stop waiting for a call that never comes. One good day turns into two, then a week, just don't beat yourself up on the days he pops back in your head.

The "map of a town that does not exist" part got me. Here is the thing nobody talks about with this hobby, the fake town becomes a place you actually want to hang out in. You know the diner on 5th, you know which bus is always late, you know the guy who runs the hardware store. That town is fun and easy and nobody can judge it. The real story is scary because your character has to want something and then not get it, and that can just plain fail. A spreadsheet of birthdays never fails. So yeah, you are not avoiding writing, you are avoiding being bad at writing, which is a whole different thing and way harder to admit.