10 Ways to Keep Creative Writing Ideas Flowing

Take an interest in complete strangers, but not so much of an interest that you get yourself arrested.

What I mean is, when you're in a supermarket, a restaurant, a theater, stuck in a traffic jam, or in any public place, observe those around you and ask yourself what kind of people they are.

In your imagination, give that person a name and try to come up with a little back story. If you're in a supermarket, perhaps the contents of their basket sparks some clue as to the kind of person they are: do they have nothing more than an apple and a bottle of water, or do they have a massive, family-size pack of cookies?

Who are they with? Is that man a friend, a husband, or a lover? Let your mind wander as you create a scenario that could have brought the person to that specific place. For example, is he at the bus stop because his car's broken down? Is she nervously waiting for a blind date at the cafe? Is the couple in the corner of the restaurant quiet because they argued on the way there?

Keep in mind, the object of these little exercises isn't to come up with some dazzling idea that will turn into a bestseller. The aim is simply to encourage your creativity, so don't second guess yourself or dismiss your mind's wanderings just because you don't think it would make a 'great' story.

Things are happening all the time; to us and the people we know. And those things are a rich source of creative writing material.

As an exercise, take an experience or event and alter it in some way, so the outcome would be very different from the one you know. 

In other words, if your best friend just got married, imagine if he or she had been stood up at the alter. What would have happened next? 

If your car was almost backed into in the parking lot last week, let your imagination ruminate on what would have happened if the driver hadn't stopped in time.

You get the idea; pick anything, even something completely mundane, like cooking dinner (what if you'd been all out of paprika?), take an aspect of the reality of that event and twist it into something else. 

All good writers are also good readers, that is a fact.

Now, you can read anything and it will do your imagination, and writing, the power of good. However, I highly recommend keeping abreast of current affairs. Personally, I prefer an actual, physical newspaper (not a tabloid), but what matters is that you're filling your head with as much potential story material as possible - precisely where you get it isn't as important. 

Often, creative writing ideas can be sparked by something that's going on in the world. For instance, you might be inspired by current events in Syria or Ukraine. But it doesn't have to be an event of huge significance, some small, local story about a man whose life was saved by his pet rabbit might be equally helpful in triggering an idea.

Don't be afraid to take a news story that interests you, or speaks to you in some way, and change it: change the outcome, change the location, change the person it happened to, change as much or as little as you want until you've made it your own. 

Read anything and everything!

Having said I shy away from tabloids, there's nothing wrong with flicking through one if it happens to be laying around in a waiting room or someone else's home. After all, you don't have to agree with the reporting style to pick up a flash of inspiration.

Other than ideas, the wonderful thing you get from reading is words.

Words, words, words...Eliza Doolittle may have become sick of them, but they are the very lifeblood of a writer. And words can also provide a springboard for creativity. 

For example, you might stumble across an unusual word, like 'floccinaucinihilipilification' (the action or habit of regarding something as worthless). In turn, you may wonder about the kind of person who would use that word - is he/she an interesting character, someone who could have a story built around them?

In order to keep your writing hand 'in' by writing every day, a journal can be incredibly useful.

The other benefit of keeping a diary of some description is that you have a record of places, people and experiences to draw back on if you're looking for creative writing inspiration.

A journal doesn't have to be particularity organized, it can be nothing more than a string of notes. Maybe one entry will just be a short list of words that captured your attention that day; it doesn't need to be formalized, just go with the flow.

Similarly, you don't need to have a specific book for your journaling - you might just write on scraps of paper. However, I think there's something very appealing about a nicely bound, thick covered diary.

The other tip I'd offer is to keep your journal by your bed for those late night or early morning flashes of inspiration. Alternatively, you might want to look at a night-time notepad specifically for the purpose.   

Similar to people watching, people listening can provide a wealth of unexpected ideas.

Ever overheard two friends talking about their night out and wondered what the heck must have been going on at that party?

Something else to be picked up from listening to snippets of strangers' conversations is a feel for the way people talk. We each have different patterns and habits of speech, and it's easy to fall into the trap of making all of your characters talk like you.

If you're writing a play (or even a novel), getting a good grasp of realistic dialogue, and different speech patterns can be immensely helpful.

Keep some kind of writing equipment with you at all times (this is where the cell phone comes in very handy), and make a note of any words or phrases that strike you as interesting.

Brainstorming is really just the act of letting your mind spew out any old thing that happens to be dwelling in it. Don't overthink it, don't second guess it, just let it all flow.

Keep things simple, because you're not looking to flesh any one idea out at this stage, you should just being trying to keep up with your mind.

You're flow of ideas might go something like this:

• During therapy for his claustrophobia, a man gets stuck in a lift
• A research lab assistant is working late at night when an animal rights activist breaks in
• Following the death of her husband, a woman discovers he had another wife and family

There are a couple of ways to approach brainstorming ideas for creative writing, the first is to set a timer (give yourself five minutes, for example), and keep writing until the time's up. The second way is to set a figure in your mind (say 50 ideas), and don't stop until you reach that goal.

Don't worry too much about the ideas being 'good' - in fact, don't worry at all about the quality, just keep scribbling.

Typically, what you'll find is that the ideas get better as you go along. The first half or so might be real stinkers, but you'll hit your stride and may come up with some things that are worth expanding.

Remember, no one else ever has to see any of this, so don't allow self-consciousness to stop the flow of ideas. 

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking you need to be 'in the mood' to write.

And, of course, there's no denying, when the mood strikes, you're likely to be more productive and turn out work of better quality.

However, keeping your creativity flowing is not so much about producing good quality sentences as it is about just keeping the brain active and well-oiled.

So, it's important to write every day, even when you're not in the mood...and even when what you're writing is downright dire.

Just write for yourself; make a few notes in your journal, complete a few writing prompt exercises, or brainstorm. What you produce each day doesn't have to be of a standard fit for anyone else to view, but it's served its purpose just by being. 

The aim of every single one of the exercises, tricks and tips above is simple: to remove the blocks which prevent the flow of creativity that is inbuilt in each and every one of us. 

Think back to your childhood and how free your imagination used to be; every object could be turned into something else, make believe came easy, and you never once paused to think, 'do I look weird doing this?' 

At some point, though, our brains stop functioning that way and start to filter what they will and won't let in. Watchers at the gate of the mind, as Friedrich Schiller referred to them, are put in place to stop streams of creativity, because they could be perceived as madness. Let's be honest, they are a sort of madness.

In order to be creative, we have to kill off those watchers and let the 'madness' rush in.

Yes, observing a complete stranger in a department store and imagining a scenario around which she brought that hideous hot pink blouse might seem a little nutty. Sure, it goes against what our mature brains tell us is appropriate, but, if we practice enough at these things that feel weird and unfamiliar, the natural flow of creativity we experience as children will come back.

It's that childlike (not childish), sense of fun with the amazing things our minds are capable of that you're trying to reclaim. And once you do, you'll find that creative writing ideas flow to you with relative ease.