• follow a new path; if you always take the same way home, choose a new route and treat your eyes to new views along the way.
• really look at something you don’t usually notice: the plumpness of a peach and its tender blush of color, the collage of patterns on the bark of a birch tree, the scents and sounds of the early morning.
• immerse yourself in the arts: take up watercolors, master the art of french cuisine, learn a new language in a class or by listening to audiotapes, plant a flower bed, capture a sunrise with your camera.
• immerse yourself in the world: listen to how people converse: in restaurants, on the subway, over coffee in the neighborhood café. observe how people walk and dress; notice sounds and colors; experience silence; get the feel of busy streets, fields and forests, small towns, amusement parks—any variety of places and spaces that are accessible in your area.
• let your imagination go: daydream, fantasize, play “what if,” make up.stories about people you see walking down the street.
• do something new: if you’ve always wondered what it would be like to play the accordion, take a lesson; if you’ve sometimes thought you might want to be a lawyer, sit in on a court case; if you like to sketch and doodle, sign up for an art class.
• read, read, read: novels, newspapers, magazines, comics, brochures, cookbooks, poems, memoirs, how-to guides, travel essays; anything you can get your hands on.

from: the everything creative writing book