One thing that I have been trying to do (though there is an epic fail on my part) is write on a randomly chosen topic (one word, a phrase, etc.) and write a thousand words on it. It helps to keep you creative and allows you to try different styles or genres that you normally would not pursue.
I see... I never did that exercise, though I have read about it. For creativity I just played RPG, but now a days, I just close my eyes, and begin to type what I think...
Actually, that sounds an excellent idea to me. Easy enough to write the things that come naturally or that we enjoy by genre or topic, more challenging to grab something at random and try to give birth to something interesting.
Haha, this reminds me of writing essays for school/classes. I can never do those things well even though I usually get a top-of-the-class score. At least, not well enough to my liking. I remember one time we were supposed to write about why schools need more diverse classrooms, but I thought about it, couldn't think of anything good, and decided to screw the rules, and wrote about why it was unnecessary. I don't like to writing on random/given topics because I can never get into it so I end up writing half-heartedly.
Well I see that you are about the same as me, I don't like to write about random stuff, though I could. School you are usually forced to write Explanatory, but never Narrative (which is what I like). I also got one of the highest scores in class without planning or proof reading, which is one reason that got me into loving to write. Ah the good old days...
I have dedicated myself to trying as many literary methods of conveying story as possible. First person, Third Person, past tense, present tense, future tense. Let the reader know what the hero is thinking but no one else, let the reader know what everyone else is thinking, but not the hero.
