Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring without being sappy
Review: This didn't make me cry like Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, but I did enjoy reading it. It has many tales of writers who struggled before finally making a successful career in writing. It didn't have a lot of the sappy, ultimate sacrifice stuff like some of the other chicken soup books. As a writer it gave me some encouragement but I can't say I'm going to pull it out and read it over and over again. If you are a struggling writer, it is worthwhile. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to write as a career, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational, but not Instructional
Review: This is a collection of approximately 80 stories from various writers, some famous, some not. The stories are personal anecdotes of the obstacles faced in becoming a writer. Most of the stories seem to have a hardship story to tell, for example, overcoming poverty or illness. My favorite story was from the Christmas Box author, telling how he wrote and self-published the book.
If you are looking for writing instruction, this is not what you want. However, if you need to be reminded that many other people who have aspired to become succesful writers have faced and overcome overwhelming odds, then you will enjoy this book. I recommend this book to any aspiring writer who is currently feeling discouraged from rejection or self-doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Another Helping of Love
Review: Unlike its predecessors in the CHICKEN SOUP line of books, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE WRITER'S SOUL is a more condensed version of wit, wisdom and pathos. It is not the typical CHICKEN SOUP recipe with 101 stories, but a shorter version of 87 stories (and cartoons) intended to amuse, inspire and motivate all writers great and small. Essays by famous writers serve up their recipes for success; sprinkled in-between like subtle seasonings are stories by not-so-famous writers. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE WRITER'S SOUL offers encouragement to all who wrestle with putting thought to paper. It is for those who eat, sleep and breathe the written word, who translate language into heart and soul. As with all the CHICKEN SOUP books, the main ingredient is the power of the human soul to overcome all obstacles. It is a must-have companion not just for writers but for people everywhere who struggle with issues larger than themselves. It is another helping of love.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasent Surprise - Very Inspirational
Review: wasnt sure what to expect from this one but as a writer working on my fourth book I have to say that this one is worth the money. It has inspirational stories from the famous and the aspiring and they have practical usable advice while they inspire you. Well worth the time and money on this one! Ive read it twice and keep it handy for needed inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Just what the doctor ordered!
Review: When I first saw this book in the bookstore, I thought a bit cynically, wow, those chicken soup folks have a book for everybody. Then I saw a review by one of the people on my favorite's list and thought hmm!. I picked it up that following weekend and have not regretted it one bit. I am enjoying this book so much. I read a chapter every few days so to stretch it out and savor it and make it last. The stories are both enlightening and encouraging. There are well-known writers and not so well-known writers giving their testimonies of how they found their place or voice in the writing world. From Ernest Gaines recounting of writing a book the summer he was sixteen, first writing in long-hand and then pecking out on a typewriter, and binding it and sending it to a publisher only to be sorely rejected to Barbara Jean Fisher's story in the Overcoming Obstacles section was a thrill. Ms. Fisher overcame severe health problems to achieve her dream of becoming published. Elizabeth Engstrom talks of meeting her favorite author and the invaluable advice she received. Barnaby Conrad writes about the youthful Alex Haley and his perserverance to become a writer. These are just some of the stories that will lift up and encourage all writers no matter where you are in your journey.
Rating:
Summary: A good refresher
Review: Wonderful, inspiring book of stories for the perservering writer!
Rating:
Summary: Writers Will Like This Tape!
Review: Writers will like this tape. There are many examples of how people have struggled to find their writer identities. I'm still searching for mine, but I feel like I'm getting closer to where I want to be. I have written a non-fiction and am struggling with a work of fiction. This audiotape gave me more courage to find my own "light" and to write from my heart. It was interesting how much soul-searching and frustation very good writers have gone through, some of them great writers who didn't realize how great they were...how much potential they had inside them. I highly recommend this book or audiotape. Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"
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