-Write through a shitty first draft and make that your top priority; don’t stop to fix things or get perfectionistic when you’re doing that initial draft. Get the basic shape down and you can fine-tune it later.
-Don’t use clichés, unless you’re subverting them somehow.
-Do your morning pages. Even if you think they’re stupid. They help.
-Write down ideas/little bursts of inspiration IMMEDIATELY when you get them, because you might not remember them. Keep writing materials on your person at all times, for this reason. (I always have a notebook and pen on me, and I also keep one next to my bed at all times, but the notes app on your phone works just as well.)
-Develop Pavlovian cues which tell your brain it’s time to write, and stick to them. (Lately I have a specific seat in a specific coffee shop which is my Writing Zone; the food & drink I routinely ingest as I begin writing is also a cue like this. And I like to put on my blue topaz ring because that’s the writerly crystal and I feel like it sharpens my abilities in some way. Certain music and clothing can also be helpful.)
-Write about stuff that excites you. Write the stuff you CAN’T WAIT to write. Write about what you’re obsessed with, what you’re constantly thinking about. If you have boring writing that you HAVE TO do, try to work those elements of enthusiasm into it somehow. If you can’t, then at least work on your passion project(s) on the side. Enthusiasm will fuel your writing life.
-Read your work out loud before you publish/finalize it.
-If you’re stuck, go for a walk while you turn your ideas over in your mind. Or do something repetitive and mechanical, like going for a jog, cleaning your room, organizing your digital files, etc. You can reboot your brain by doing this kind of stuff.
-Get into the habit of writing and reading A LOT if you’re not already. Journal your feelings. Consume all sorts of different genres. Use Twitter to work on concision. Read the news. etc. etc.
-Seek out opportunities to stretch your writing muscles – by which I mean, writing in genres that are unfamiliar to you or writing about topics you don’t know a lot about but are interested in nonetheless. (I have recently been streeeeetching by writing fiction set within the world of police detectives. I rarely write fiction and had never before written anything about police life. It is hard! But it is keeping my brain engaged and maintaining that feeling of an exciting challenge, which is great for fueling your overall enthusiasm for the craft.)
-Read good books about writing (On Writing Well, The Elements of Style, Bird by Bird, etc.) but also develop your own style and your own set of rules. You don’t HAVE to listen to what experts say, but their ideas can at least be good jumping-off points for developing your own practice and voice.
-Consider your current organizational system – how you store your notes, drafts, etc. – and overhaul it (or parts of it) if it’s not really working for you. (I used to do a lot of hand-writing because it seemed to be the purist approach but eventually I discovered I don’t like it as much as typing. Now I do 90% of my writing in Google Docs because everything auto-saves and syncs across devices. Mmmmm yessss.)
-SHOW, DON’T TELL. Post this phrase prominently in every workspace you regularly use. Constantly ask yourself if you’re showing-not-telling and fix it if you aren’t. (This is especially useful for fiction and less so for nonfiction, but I still think a lot of nonfiction would feel less dry and more imaginative if there were more showing-not-telling.)
-Show people your writing but don’t allow yourself to self-censor out of the fear of how an eventual audience will react. Write for yourself first and foremost; you can pare down or reshape later drafts for their intended audience if you need to, but if your first draft panders, subsequent ones will suck.