Synopses & Reviews
NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED
When it comes to creating ideas, we hold ourselves back. That’s because inside each of us is an internal editor whose job is to forever polish our thoughts, so we sound smart and in control, and so that we fit into society. But what happens when we encounter problems where such conventional thinking fails us? How to get unstuck?
For Mark Levy, the answer is freewriting, a technique he’s used for years to solve all types of business problems, and generate ideas for books, articles and blog posts.
Freewriting is deceptively simple: Start writing as fast as you can, for as long as you can, about a subject you care deeply about, while ignoring the standard rules of grammar and spelling. Your internal editor won’t be able to keep up with your output, and will be temporarily shunted into the background. You’ll now be able to think more honestly and resourcefully than before, and will generate breakthrough ideas and solutions that you couldn’t have created any other way.
Levy shares six freewriting secrets designed to knock out your editor and let your genius run free. He also includes fifteen problem-solving and creativity-stimulating principles you can use if you need more firepower—seven of which are new to this edition—and stories of problems he and others have solved through freewriting.
Also new to this edition: an extensive section on how to refine your freewriting into something you can share with the world. Although Levy originally taught freewriting as a private brainstorming technique, over the years he and his clients have found that, with some tweaking, it’s a great way to generate content for books, articles, and other thought leadership pieces.
Review
“I’ve been a fanboy of Accidental Genius and the genius of Mark Levy for five years now, and I couldn’t work without these ideas.”
—David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR
Synopsis
Where do your best ideas come from? So often we censor and criticize ourselves before even committing an idea to writing. Mark Levy, author of Accidental Genius, shows us how to stop censoring ourselves and tap into our most powerful creative thinking by using a variety of writing exercises. This energizing and pragmatic book guides readers through a series of easy, private writing exercises to get at their best, most creative, and most practical thinking by building upon previous knowledge. These techniques act as catalysts which guide readers toward new perspectives, critical insights, and resourceful idea generation. Levy also demonstrates how to refine our free writing into useful content. This second edition includes updates on how to use these writing and thinking exercises to generate raw material for books, articles, presentations, blog posts, and tweets. It also includes new forced creativity exercises that encourage new and unusual ways of thinking, helping readers to reframe and reposition their businesses. Accidental Genius is an invaluable tool that will teach readers how to unleash their hidden creativity through free writing to better understand the world, make decisions, and solve problems.
Synopsis
When it comes to creating ideas, we hold ourselves back. That's because inside each of us is an internal editor whose job is to forever polish our thoughts so we sound smart and in control and so we fit into society.
But what happens when we encounter problems where such conventional thinking fails us? How do we get unstuck?
For Mark Levy, the answer is freewriting, a technique he's used for years to solve all types of business problems and generate ideas for books, articles, and blog posts.
Freewriting is deceptively simple: start writing as fast as you can, for as long as you can, about a subject you care deeply about, while ignoring the standard rules of grammar and spelling. Your internal editor won't be able to keep up with your output--you'll generate breakthrough ideas and solutions that you couldn't have created any other way.
Levy shares his six secrets to freewriting as well as fifteen problem-solving and creativity-stimulating principles you can use if you need more firepower--seven of which are new to this edition. Also new to this edition: an extensive section on how to refine your raw freewriting into something you can share with the world.
Synopsis
Levy shows readers how to tap into their most powerful creative thinking by using a variety of writing exercises. This second edition includes updates on how to use these exercises to generate raw material for books, articles, presentations, blog posts, and tweets.
About the Author
Mark Levy is the founder of the marketing strategy firm Levy Innovation (www.levyinnovation.com). Mark has written for the New York Times, has authored or co-created five books, and has taught writing at Rutgers University. He is also a magic illusion designer—his work has been performed off-Broadway, in Las Vegas, and on all the major television networks.