Coming up with new ideas

We've all been there. We have this huge craving to write something but once we get in front of whatever means we use to build our works, our mind goes blank. And it's not just some light issue, we truly have no idea what to write. That can -and eventually will- get on anyone's nerves. Well, I have some pointers to leave this problem behind. Or at least power through it:

• Do some freewriting: Freewriting is a technique that's really close to brainstorming. You just start writing on whatever subject you want to and keep on going. You can't stop for any reason, there's no fixing grammar or anything. This may seem a little counter-productive, but you'll be impressed with what you can create if you give your creativity a little room to stretch.  Mind that I'm not telling you it'll be great -or even god, for that matter- right of the bat, but that text could perfectly contain some great ideas for your next big project. I highly recommend Freebloging.me, that tool was created to support this technique and could come in handy.
• Use prompts: You -nor I- are the first person to be creatively blocked. A lot of people has been down that path and every single one of them has something to leave behind as advice for the new followers of the literary ways. Some really good prompts can be found here.
• Change scenery: Inspiration can come from anywhere, and maybe staying always in the same spot gets monotone. Go out, grab a notebook and walk down the beach. Visit a close enough forest or just take a hike downtown and look at it with new eyes. Take notes. Imagine you are a tourist and everything impresses you. This subtle change in perspective could give you the inspiration you strive for -and a nice workout, of course-.
• Do something else: Probably the absolute worst thing you can do is looking at the blinking cursor in a blank page and start pulling your hair out little by little. If inspiration doesn't come fast, don't force it. You'll lose time and, in the worst case, interest. Do something else, like some house cleaning, or play some music, anything. Inspiration will come, but if you force yourself too much you might just scare it away.

There's a lot more you could do to help your writing, these are only some of the exercises I've found that work best for me. Have any different techniques or ideas you'd like to share? Please go ahead and post them in the comment section!