Ideas are a lot like snowflakes in Canada.

Once one comes, many more follow.

When they start flowing get your pen moving! They can come so fast and furiously you may not have a moment to remember the next one as you’re jotting down the previous one.

And, if you can’t write them out fast enough how well do you think you’ll do at remembering them?

So simply recording the alterations of the original idea will help you. After 45 minutes to an hour of simply throwing around ideas, make a conscious decision to take a break, walk away, move onto something else.

You’ll likely find that little pieces of the idea keep popping back into your conscious mind as your unconscious continues to work on the problem.

What to do when ideas aren’t flowing…

If you have a ‘starter’ idea, run with it for a while. Think about your idea, add to it. Even if you think the idea is silly or worthless, move it around, shake it up, paint it red, whatever. Seeing that first idea in a different way or light will move you onto another idea, a new perspective.

It won’t be long before you’ll have a few ideas, the creative juices are running with your idea painted red, your idea upside down and so on. That’s when the ideas just start rolling. And as each one seems to fall from the sky, as your pen is scribbling across the page trying to keep up, you’ll then find you have a number of ideas to select from.

Yes, your best idea so far may still require work. Or your best may still be locked inside you. When you tire of the exercise, hand it all over to your unconscious mind and find something else to keep your brain distracted and away from idea generation.

If this isn’t happening in the next 14 hours and your idea isn’t mutating or getting better then it’s time to reenergize - read up on your subject, take an object similar to your subject and work with it, play with it, taste it, or take to the streets and ask people what they think about it.