Broken Crayons: Break Your Crayons and Draw Outside the Lines [Paperback]

Robert Alan Black (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

BROKEN CRAYONS is a book focused on helping the reader expand and enrich their creative thinking skills and train them how to help others do the same. BC is written in a conversational tone, as if the author and reader are discussing each lesson and chapter throughout the book.

BC begins with an analysis of the reader's creative traits and their style of creative thinking. It follows with chapters on how to maximize each.

After the focus on the reader is a discussion of various external and internal blocks of creativity and creativeness with several examples of how the reader can eliminate or move around them.

Then BC provides several idea generating tools and a creative problem solving model with exercises to help the reader develop a working knowledge with each.

The final section of BC focuses on how managers and leaders and parents as well can help develop the creative thinking of other people as a team leader.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., known as Alan, Dr. I. L. Creativity, the Creativity Wizard and the Viz Whiz is a creative thinking consultant and professsional speaker. His passion is the S.P.R.E.A.D.ng of Creative Thinking in workplaces around the world. Since 1984 he has been a full-time consultant working with business, industry, finance, education and governmental clients.

Since 1962 he has been either creating or teaching/training others how to increase their creative thinking abilities and skills. Prior to working as a consultant he was a licensed architect, interior designer, graphics/signage designer, cartoonist, freelance writer and television writer. From 1980 to 1984 he was an art and environmental design professor. In 1984 he began his full-time consulting practice.

His formal education consists of a Ph.D. in Creativity, a Masters in Guidance and Counseling focusing on creative and talented people, a Masters in Art with dual majors in Visual Communication and Interior Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Added to that has been extensive workshop training in creative thinking and problem solving, leading, communicating, teaming and training creatively.

He is an active member in the Creative Education Foundation, American Creativity Association, National Speakers Association, Georgia Speakers Association, National Storytelling Membership Association and the Southern Order of Storytellers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Cre8ng Places Press (August 1998)
• ISBN-10: 0966477006
• ISBN-13: 978-0966477009
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,020,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rehash, January 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Crayons: Break Your Crayons and Draw Outside the Lines (Paperback)

This book is a rehash of well-known techniques in the field. Apparently, the author read much what was on the market and presented the techniques under different names. If you are a novice to the field, the book has value. If you have read much in the field, the book has no value.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Offers helpful, very accessible information and how-to's, April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Crayons: Break Your Crayons and Draw Outside the Lines (Paperback)

This is a colorful, fun book to read, and it gives you a lot of ideas and exercises for increasing your own creativity and that of others. I think when a person gets more creative, and less judgmental, the others around him or her tend to loosen up as well. Using some of these ideas in my business environment has paid off. I also facilitate some sessions, and this book gives great ideas on how to structure such events and what some of the content might be. There are many books on enhancing creativity (and some excellent ones), but this one is unique in that it makes the information and how-to's very accessible

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful little book for sparking creative ideas!, April 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Crayons: Break Your Crayons and Draw Outside the Lines (Paperback)

A fun book to use when organizing a presentation about creativity or when in need of a resource to stimulate creative ideas about a new project. Although the book is slim, the author's indepth knowledge of, and enthusiasm for the field of creativity is evident throughout the text.