John Cleese

In this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide John Cleese shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing

Creativity

"Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren't actually creative. I like to think I'm writing about it from the inside." --John Cleese Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical, and often very amusing guide he shows it's a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you've come up with something that might be worth pursuing? What do you do if you think you've hit a brick wall? Not only does he explain the way your mind works as you search for inspiration, he also shows that, regardless of the task you've set yourself, you can learn to be better at coming up with a promising idea, refining it, and knowing when you're ready to act on it. We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how.

A Short and Cheerful Guide

Tasnim Chowdhury 

rumbledethumps

A very short book about encouraging a creative practice. Focused mainly on writing, it could also have uses in other artistic pursuits.

Some might say it is far too short, but it embraces what it is. There's very little filler (such as you might see in other books of its kind), it is to the point, and the few instructions it gives are direct and easy to implement.

I'll put this on my permanent shelf next to Austin Kleon and Twlya Tharp.

Rohit Gupta

Watched a few youtube videos of John before to get that voice in my head. Nice short book that explains things you know, but never thought would be so valuable.

Maya

Short, helpful, and enjoyable. Would reccomend.

Scott Taylor

For those facing writer's block, I highly recommend this book.  John Cleese offers sound, simple solutions on how to harness your creative ability. I found myself constantly underlining and staring passages for reference later on when that inevitable block comes around. My only complaint was that it was too short! 

Creativity

Reviews

Highlights