I've found writing out different characters just chatting with each other helps.
As simple as this sounds it really helps if theres something crazily different with them, and if you focus on their perspectives.
Simple alterations include different mindsets, or biases.
So say a cold blooded professional hitman talking to a lady who sells flowers for example. How would that look?
Or take somebody who is seeing things, or a person who has trouble talking (A point very close to home for me. Speech impediment. Gotta love em.)
Even somebody going through a crazy rough patch talking to somebody who isn't or who frankly is a dick about the situation is always something to see. ( Or something you may end up writing.)
But my favourite is to start removing senses, or things that really make them different.
A blind man having a conversation with a lady who has no idea he's blind.
An immortal who can alter reality at a whim talking to a 5 year old girl.
Police chief to a mob boss.
An ex slave talking to a slave trader, (Actually happens in a story of mine.)
Old friends on different sides of the battle field. (Cliche? This feels a bit cliche. Even the old ww1 soldiers thing comes to mind with this one. You know the christmas cease fire.)
I tend to focus on characters, and how they react. I also tend to think of the scenarios which wrap around them. Even if I am not writing this do I do think about it.
The immortal being and the five year old girl one could be amusing. I have a character in my head right now I am imaging doing this.
Sometimes just sitting down and thinking about this crap until a light bulb turns on is enough to get the juices flowing.
I have no formal anything. The only thing close I got was a creative writing class in high school where the teacher just adored my work and I breezed through it with everybody patting me on the back and congratulating me. I learned absolutely nothing from that experience, except maybe I have a chance to go somewhere with it.
So use your noggin and think outside of your box. Bang out a few pages of toss away. You never know when that character you imagined will fit perfectly into a slot in a new story: Just pick em up, brush off the dust, give them a shine, and some more thought.
Just don't stop. Even if you need to write something else because you really feel like writing a scene where somebody is eating an axe for breakfast, go ahead.
I stopped writing for 6 months..
That was the stupidest decision in my life.
Signed,
Mr. James.