Ideas, images, or powerful urges to write may arrive like sudden miracles. Even if you are taking a shower or heading to a movie, yield to impulse and write. Encourage such moments by opening your mind to inspiration.

Talk about Your Writing. Discuss ideas in person, by phone, or online with a classmate or friend, encouraging questions, comments, and suggestions. Or talk to yourself, using a voice-activated recorder, while you sit through traffic jams, walk your dog, or ride your stationary bike.

Lay Out Your Plans. Tell a nearby listener — your next-door neighbor, spouse, parent, friend — why you want to write this paper, what you’ll put in it, how you’ll lay it out. If you hear “That sounds good,” you’ll be encouraged. If you see a yawn, you’ll still have ideas in motion.

Keep a Notebook or Journal Handy. Always keep some paper in your pocket or backpack or on the night table to write down good ideas that pop into your mind. Imagination may strike in the grocery checkout line, in the doctor’s waiting room, or during a lull on the job.

Read. The step from reading to writing is a short one. Even when you’re reading for fun, you’re involved with words. You might hit on something for your paper. Or read purposefully: set out to read and take notes.