Um, 2.5 rounded up...simply because I struggle with the self help genre. Had this been completely a memoir from which you could just take away what you observed and perhaps apply it to your creative practice, then....I might have been on board. The parts where Gilbert recounted her inspiration, struggles, abandonment, or completion of various writing projects were all really interesting. Some the examples about other writers were also quite engaging. But then everything comes full circle to "Don't expect...Never blah blah...Consider yadda yadda...Always marf marf..." I just can't handle the preachiness of self help. I spend more time eye rolling than wanting to get to work making something. Oh, but the magic bit was kinda cool (in a fantasy sort of way).