The Unexpected Obsession That Fuels Every Writer’s Greatest Breakthroughs

The best book about writing would be one that made you go off and write. You might never finish the book, because you’d only be able to read a few sentences at a time before you had to go and write. In fact, the book might be the most dangerous book in the world. Anyone who even read a page would instantly have to go and write.

Imagine the chaos. Bookstore employees would have to handle it with special tongs, averting their eyes like they’re dealing with radioactive material. Amazon would need warning labels. “Do not read while operating heavy machinery or sitting at solemn gatherings.” Publishing houses would have to employ special editors to work in shifts of thirty seconds, rotating out before the compulsion to abandon editing and start their Great American Novel becomes overwhelming.

The book would single-handedly crash the world economy as millions of people simultaneously abandoned their jobs to furiously scribble in notebooks.

Libraries would be forced to keep it in a sealed vault, accessible only to those who sign waivers acknowledging they might never return to their families. Book clubs would cease to exist, not because people stopped reading, but because no one could get past page 7 without excusing themselves to draft a few opening paragraphs.

The very concept of literary criticism would collapse, as critics would be too busy writing their own masterpieces to finish reviewing anyone else’s work.

Of course, no such book about writing exists.

Which is why we have something arguably better: an entire ecosystem of books, articles, and YouTube videos about writing that we can consume endlessly, joyfully, guiltily.

The warm bath of writing about writing

I own 8 physical books about writing, and probably as many again in digital form scattered across devices. I know my Bird By Bird-s from my Writing Down The Bones-es.

I’d bet I’ve watched a few hundred hours of YouTube videos about writing, all told. I have a playlist called “Writing” that could run for three days straight. I’m always scheming to get into screenwriting, and there’s a ton…