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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31229
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Here are a few techniques I've used.

**Free Write**

For 15 minutes, write constantly. Don't stop to correct spelling, fix mistyped words or pause for ideas. If you can't think of anything keep writing "I can't think of anything." Turn off your monitor, if it helps you to avoid correcting. The concept is to get the mind and fingers flowing. Write whatever pops into your mind. This is like panning for gold. You go through a lot of dirt to find a fleck of gold.

**Banish the Editor**

We all have an inner editor. This cruel, vicious, hateful person looks at all of our writing as trash. If we spend our time trying to satisfy this editor, we'll never write anything. You need to kick the editor out of the door while you're writing. This takes conscious effort. Write, regardless of how the horrible editor complains that your output stupid, trite or sophomoric. You will come back to it and polish, revise and make it better. Then you will do it again. Very few, if any, can go from a blank canvas to perfect prose. Writing is re-writing.

**Keep Notes**

You need to have a bank of ideas you can tap into when you write. Carry a small notebook with you, so you can record ideas. It doesn't have to be a whole idea, fragments can be very useful. Be aware of the idle thoughts that flow through your mind. Hear something interesting? Write it down! Have a fragment of a thought that seems interesting? Write it down. Some ideas don't come all at once. Sometime, you'll piece them together. If you don't write it down, you'll NEVER remember it! [Heinlein's cat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Door_into_Summer) was the inspiration for a novel.

**Inspiration is Everywhere**

Inspiration is all around you. Look at people while you're standing in line at the grocery store, and try to describe them. Create stories for people you see as you are out and about. Wikipedia has a [random article link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random). If you spend an hour clicking the link and reading every article, you may uncover something interesting or inspiring.

**Ask Why**

If a book, story or television show inspires you, ask yourself "What was it that piqued my interest?" Often, you'll find a seed of a story.

Original score: 3