This is like a distilled version of her Story Structure book. I love that it's a quick read, easy to consume, and convenient to turn to when you need a refresher on structure. Definitely a handy book to have in a writer's / author's arsenal.

Initial reaction: Very quick read but a very helpful guide to overcoming writer's block. I feel Weiland hit on many interesting points on why and how writer's get blocked, and offered viable solutions to such problems, as well as prompted great tips for being inspired.

Full review:

"Conquering Writer's Block and Summoning Inspiration" is a very short read (my Kindle copy was 60 some pages while the audiobook is just under 2 hours) but packs quite a bit of useful information that I had quite a bit of takeaway from. K.M. Weiland's suggestions are very helpful and encouraging while being aware of the struggles of the writing life. The book first makes suggestions on how to strike inspiration and create productive habits from a multitude of different sources (including being able to dig into details and making writing a priority). Then it follows up with the reasons why writers get blocked (some examples include stressing that sometimes our inner editors get the best of us, that we may hang on to the same ideas and be afraid to stretch out of comfort zones, or that we may wait for "the zone").

I appreciated Weiland's honest feedback and the text itself feels thorough on a number of different issues for writers who are new and also veterans. I definitely think I'll refer back to this to get a dose of inspiration when I need it (though it's not so much that I suffer from writer's block as it is that I need to sometimes rein in my inner critic, as well as try to organize all the ideas that keep welling up in my head and organize them to optimize my productivity.)

Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.

This would make a great electronic fillable form. As it stands, I got the kindle version, which is fine, but lacks that satisfying, fill-it-in aspect. The paperback would be nice, but I'd likely need to buy one for every story. :) I do love all the directions and questions in it. It's like getting the anatomy of your story laid out in an easy to digest format. I feel the need to rearrange some of the items, though. I think this book blends really well with Randy Ingermanson's How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method (Advanced Fiction Writing Book 1) - Start with the general idea, find the big plot points, then start filling in pinch points and hooks and foreshadowing and such. Might have to make my own electronic version of the workbook to help me set up plots. Excited to see what this does for my writing.

This is a fantastic book of information, and the accompanying workbook is great at teaching the reader about story structure. There's examples to help you understand, and it's very thorough. I imagine I'll be using this info to help strengthen my future stories and I'm excited to get started.

So why three stars? I had a hard time connecting with the content. The first time I read it, I got about halfway through and quit. I read mostly fiction, and tend to disconnect with non-fiction content. And to be perfectly honest, after reading Randy Ingermanson's How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method (Advanced Fiction Writing Book 1), trying to read a novel on structuring fiction that was so textbook was kind of difficult.

Ms. Weiland is incredibly adept and helpful, and I would totally recommend this book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped to.

Review coming soon.