There are so many different answers to that question, but I think the best response that I've ever heard to this query was as I was inadvertently eavesdropping on the conversation of a couple of fellow writers sitting behind me at a writer's conference many years ago. And the discussion was so logical as to be scary in its simplicity:
Pick the best method that works for you to spark your creativity.
On the surface, that seems to make a world of sense. Unfortunately, some people are unsure of just what their personal catalyst for creativity is. For me, good jazz music playing in the background is a great way to start. For others, it could be as simple as sitting down at the computer and letting their fingers fly across the keyboard to writing down the bare bones of an outline and working their way up to the next great work of literature. Still, others can find great comfort in writing prompts. That brings me to the purpose of this new feature for Oh So Simpatico!
Creative Sparks
Every week or so (or as close as I can get to updating on a weekly basis), Oh So Simpatico! will feature a different website to generate writing plots -- ranging from simple sentences to get you started to entire story plots that run the gamut from serious to frivolous, pragmatic to just plain silly. And if you miss a week, there's no need to panic—all will be archived on this page. So check back often to see the newest site that has been added.
Spark #3 (9/9/08):
As of today, this site provides visitors with a whopping 345,935,040 randomly generated story starters! If this doesn't spark your creativity, nothing will.
Spark #2 (8/26/08):
You can scroll down on this site to the section where you can generate a random daily prompt. Or, on the left tool bar, hover your curser over "Writing Prompts" and you can select from Daily Writing Prompts, Writing Prompts for Kids, Right-Brained Writing Prompts or Left-Brained Writing Prompts.
Spark #1 (8/12/08):
This was probably one of the funniest plot generators that I've come across so far. It couples random plot with random Flickr photos. Yes, the plots tend to be bizarre and way out in left field, but then again if you write fiction, this may be a great jumping off point for your imagination. Don't say I didn't warn you!