Word vomit

Grab a piece of paper and dump your brains onto it. Do not erase ANYTHING and do not stop to think about what you're writing. Just let the nonsense words and jumbled thoughts flow out onto the page. Then, take out your favorite pen or highlighter and circle any of these ideas that truly speak to you or spark your interest.

For my screenwriting class, we had to write one hundred movie loglines when coming up with ideas for scripts, and honestly, as annoying and tedious as this was, I ended up getting a couple really great loglines out of it!

Take a break from every type of writing

…including texts. Take a walk outside, go to the gym, exercise in your room, watch your favorite Netflix show, or do anything that doesn't involve writing or typing out any words for at least thirty minutes. This gives your brain a chance to breathe and think about things other than your writing task at hand. That way, you'll be able to come back to your story, paper, testimonial piece, or what have you, with a fresh mind.

Socialize

Get inspiration for topics to write about by observing your friends, family, classmates, or roommates. See what they talk about, what interests them, or what is going on in their lives at the moment. If they're talking about current events, write something revolving around the state of the government. If they're talking about how Katie is just "totally in love with Jason," write about relationships!

Listen to music

Whether you listen to classical music or punk rock, put on your favorite tunes and let the ideas flow. Have a pad of paper at your side so if you're inspired by the instruments, tempo, or lyrics you can word vomit some more without forgetting anything!

Look up writing prompts

As obvious of a step this may be, utilizing writing prompts can be extremely beneficial. Even if you aren't writing a fictional or narrative piece, certain words or phrases within these writing prompts can still trigger ideas for you to write about.

Look at current news

Whether or not you're writing about politics or any current events at all, these articles (or even just their headlines) can give you character names, character traits, plot points, things to argue for or against, or even topics to state your overall opinion on.

Change up where you write

A change of scenery, even if that simply means moving from your desk to your bed, may just do the trick. This includes reducing any background noise, lowering or brightening the lighting, and/or turning on a fan or opening a window to get better airflow. If you have been sitting in the same chair, in the same position for the past hour without getting any writing done, these simple little changes may be just what you need in order to get a fresh writing start.