“If you can’t write it, write about it.” I read this advice to overcome writer’s block in a blog post some time ago but I didn’t attach much importance to it. I usually don’t register much of the advice I read online. I maintain a somewhat cynical view of it—I believe such advice is usually written by people who are clueless about the issue. However, I recently experienced firsthand how effective this advice is while struggling to write a review of The Time Regulation Institute.

I wanted to draw a parallel between Ludwig Klages’ philosophy and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s book. After doing some research, I generated a huge list of books and essays I ought to read before writing anything. This, naturally, overwhelmed me. So instead of writing the review, I started venting about how hard it is to write an essay. The title of the post was going to be “I don’t understand how people write essays”. I ended up writing the thing.

Venting about it created a domino effect. Before realizing I was writing the thing, I had put down 800 words without friction. The advice worked and I accidentally rediscovered it from first principles.

I’m aware that, for you, I’m just another rando on the internet. You should take this with a grain of salt. But the next time you find yourself unable to write it, maybe try writing about it.