A writer need never be bored. Whether waiting in a café, for a train, or stuck in traffic, you can always observe people or things. Sometimes this will give you an idea for a whole new piece of work, or maybe just some detail to enrich an existing piece. Can you read the expressions of people? Or dogs? Which trees colour first in autumn and which come into leaf last in spring. Pay extra attention to sound, smell and touch.
Perhaps surprisingly, we are not very creative when doing absolutely nothing. It’s best to be occupied with something mundane that frees the mind to wander. Go for a walk. Do the ironing.
We become more practiced at what we do regularly – so to have new ideas, do something different. Try a new activity. Go somewhere you haven’t been before, even if it’s just a new café or a new neighbourhood. But don’t take a chatty friend – the point is to observe what is around you. Even when in familiar surroundings, practice looking with new eyes, as if you are seeing it for the first time.
Learn or study something new – the aim is variety though, not to become an expert in one thing.
Or – revisit the past. What did you love doing as a child? Maybe you are drawn to some particular time in history. Perhaps you have long-held dreams that one of your characters could fulfil on the page.
It doesn’t matter if your ideas do not end up in a finished piece of work. Like an artist, keep a ‘sketch book’ of ideas and observations. Look through them again when you are having a ‘blank’ day.