Breakthrough!: Proven Strategies to Overcome Creative Block and Spark Your Imagination

by Alex Cornell

All of us struggle at one time or another with creative block. Always striking at the worst moment, it can leave you feeling completely paralyzed. Take solace in knowing that you are not alone. It happens to everyone and is actually an inevitable part of the creative process. Breakthrough! is a lively compilation of strategies for combating creative block offered by a who's who of leading graphic designers, typographers, cartoonists, photographers, illustrators, musicians, writers, and other creative professionals. Because every block is different, they offer a wide variety of solutions—from cleaning the house and eating spicy food to making a plaster cast of your hands and feet—that are surprising, amusing, at times weird, but always inspiring. Breakthrough! is rocket fuel for any creative individual in need of a catalyst to get ideas flowing again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Design, Writing, Productivity, Personal Development

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2012

Reviews

[Am Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would've been a 5-star read for me, if not for the fact that there was clearly a printing or some sort of error on many pages near the 75% mark in the book - there were weird characters mixed with the text which made it very difficult to read. Why was this not checked before it was published?

But that aside, this book was a pleasant read both visually and intellectually. It is essentially a compilation of short snippets of advice from "creatives" from all fields (e.g. musicians, writers, artists, designers, etc), on how to overcome "creative block". Some give quirky, fun or playful tips, while others adopt an analytical, more left-brained type approach to solving the problem of "mind block". The multitude of different perspectives was enjoyable to consider; the text was concise and never difficult to process.

I loved the fact that "quotable quotes" from each creative were plucked out and stylised, ala Pinterest-style. Enhancing the quotes in this way made many of them seem fresher and more invigorating.

One of the creatives said to hitchhike to Mexico and spend the night there. Another asked you to fill in a survey. And someone lamented on the nature of how our present-day fast-paced capitalist economies are much more unforgiving on "creative block" than in the olden days, when artists could take months or even years to "find their inspiration" again. This is an example of what you'll find in the book - an eclectic mix of wonderful ideas and formats.

[Iryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хто з творчих людей ніколи не відчував кризи? Гучне слово, але впевнена, що тою чи іншою мірою всі дивились на пустий листок/екран/підставте своє і не могли придумати ні слова, ні рисочки.
🐒Книга має цікавий креативний вигляд і містить в собі 90 порад людей творчих професій про те, як вони долають свої творчі кризи.
Деякі фішки я використовую теж, а дещо взяла на озброєння.
Напишу лише те, що ефективне для мене, а ви вирішуйте і шукайте свої шляхи:
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1. Піти погуляти в парк, ліс 🌳🌲
2. Прийняти ванну/душ🛀
3. Поїхати кудись
4. Піти готувати, прибирати, мити посуд, рубати дрова
5. Подивитися на завдання під іншим кутом 🤸
6. Задати собі питання: "А що б на моєму місці зробив Черчіль/Маск/Обама/чи будь-який ваш кумир
7. Переключитися на іншу роботу
8. Зайнятися спортом🏊🏋️
9. Шукати ідеї в своїх старих записниках💣
10. Піти в кіно, зустрітись з друзями на каву💬
11. Погортати улюблені каталоги, журнали, сайти для натхнення💌
12. Заставте себе нудьгувати.
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Методом проб, мені ще дуже допомагає "pomodoro timer", головне в ці 5 хв встати і зробити якісь фізичні зусилля.🍅🍅🍅
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[Karen Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun and motivating. Some of the ideas are applicable. This is a good read for just picking it up and getting some inspiration from people with success.

[Жанна Пояркова]

Сборка ответов обычных дизайнеров, фотографов, стилистов, писателей и прочих представителей "креативных специальностей" на тему того, как они преодолевают творческий блок. Книга весело сверстана, но очень поверхностна. Однако ее базовая идея - показать, что состояние определенного "затора" совершенно нормально, с ним встречаются почти все, и идея норм. Прочитала в рамках челленджа издательства МиФ. Один из участников опроса в книге сказал важную и простую вещь - не бывает двух одинаковых "творческих блоков", от которых можно магически исцелять помывкой посуды. Все остановки в творческом процессе разные, обусловлены разными вещами, а порой - необходимы человеку, поэтому общие рекомендации сливаются в фоновый шум.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best advice in this book was from a graphic designer named Cameron Moll: "No two creative blocks are alike." That pretty much sums up this book that offers "90 Proven Strategies." While a few pieces of the advice in this book were helpful, I found it more geared toward visual artists and marketing folks than writers. So maybe in the end, as "no two blocks are alike," this is a book to read about what other creatives do but not necessarily a true path to "overcome creative block" (at least not for this fiction writer).

[Fern · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice source to not feel alone in your creative block. There's lots of spelling mistakes, but it may be done on purpose to portrait more the idea that it doesn't have to be perfect in order to be enough. It is repetitive but it is so because of the similar solutions or ways of doing from the artists.

[Mukesh Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is full of interesting insights and strategies to kick start our creative juices. Made a notebook full of notes.. and intend to use the notes to juice up my creativity.. Looking forward..

[Ikram Noor · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the few first pages, it feels like a mind-opener. Then, similar messages just got repeated till the end. Could have been better if the flow is more structured.

[Diana Rajchel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of methods for breaking through creative block. It's a good grab off the shelf when stuck book.

[Cherlita · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining compilation of tips and experiences related to creative block, this book is a light read for creative junkies. I like the range of the contents -from witty to drunk, from the organized regime to the laid back one. Maybe I would randomly open one of its spread whenever I got a creative block, just not for re-reading it all over again, though.

[Kevin Eikenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that showed up as a recommendation when I was making a purchase on Amazon. How does Amazon know that I sometimes want to spark my imagination? (I might not want to really know the answer to that … - See more at: http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leade...

[AGNESE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grāmata, kas ir laba nelielās devās! Var noderēt brīžos, kad vajag ātri sapurināt sevi un savas domas.
Bet jāatzīst, ka grāmatai, manā skatījumā, tomēr trūkst svaigu un oriģinālu ideju, kā tad cīnīties ar radošo krīzi, jo teju visa grāmatā apkopotā informācija jau kaut kad ir bijusi lasīta/dzirdēta/pielietota praksē.
Grāmatai dodu 2,5 zvaigznes!

[Earl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of tips and advice form creative thinkers to break through a block or a rut. Probably better to read piecemeal instead of through and through. I actually found this book helpful as I was reading it so that’s always good!

[Dearwassily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to stop wasting time reading so much crap.

[Kristen Curette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book to have on the book shelf. I refer to it often, as I'm always in creative block.

[Nikki Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book has a good set-up
Creative idea of a book!
However it got really repetitive & by the end I got bored

A few of the people had really cook advice though!
:)