Well for starters, carry a notebook with you wherever you go.  Of course in the modern age of technology, a smart phone or a PDA can serve the same purpose.  Anything that enables you to quickly jot down an idea while you’re on the run.  Frequently ideas hit us whey you’d least expect, and you have to be ready to write down that idea so that you can save it for use when you have the time.  That’s one of the best ways to stay fresh and full of new concepts.

Make sure that you read as often as possible.  For a writer, reading is a great weapon because gaining knowledge influences you to think.  With that thinking about a certain piece you’ve read, comes new ideas or concepts you’ll be motivated to write about.

Try having a running dialogue with someone else in the industry, or even the audience of where you write.  See what their feelings are on your writing, or what’s going on in the common culture that relates to what you write.  That can give you plenty of ideas because you’ll see how someone else thinks.  That may influence you to write a new topic, or an old topic rewritten from a different point of view.

Always keep up on the news as much as possible.  Current events are what get the most reads, because the majority of internet searchers are looking for information regarding news.  Keeping current, and relevant to where the world is in this instant is key.  Plus all the different news stories are bound to influence something that you’ll want to write about.

Well, by considering which phone offers the features that will matter the most.  While both the Droid and iPhone look similar, and even operate similarly, they differ on some key issues that tend to be very important to user taste.  First off, the service providers.

Droid is on the Verizon network, which is widely regarded to be the best cellphone network.  This is because Verizon has the broadest coverage across the United States.  AT&T sort of pales in comparison to Verizon’s coverage area.  Many iPhone users complain about a high rate of dropped calls.  Something Verizon users don’t complain about as often.

Which is where you should consider, how much are they actually going to use this smartphone as a phone?  If you think your target audience would prefer to text or use the 3G network for email and internet, opposed to phone calls, either phone works.  AT&T has issues with dropped calls, but not with texting, etc.

Another major difference is that the Droid has a hardware keyboard accessable by sliding the screen aside.  This could be a great advantage if you can’t stand touch screen keyboards.  And let’s face it, touch screen keyboards usually leave something to be desired.  But the problem with slide features in phones is that they usually wear down and break quickly.  This means your Droid could have a shorter lifespan than an iPhone because of the sliding motion.  Even when protected by warranty, that’s still going to be a hassle.

The iPhone also has one other major advantage, and that’s the iTunes App Store.  The iPhone has over 100,000 different applications for every variety of uses you can think of.  The Droid store only offers 10,000 at the moment.  Apple as the more popular retailer will be the more likely to keep expanding it’s applications quickly.

So as an overall verdict, if you want the best gadget to play with, go for the iPhone.  The network isn’t as good, but more applications means more entertainment, and access to iTunes means more accessable music and videos.  But if you actually want to make calls with your phone, the Droid is your best bet for the Verizon network.

One of the most common methods, and one that you should most definitely be employing already, is to keep an idea notepad with you at all times.  Not necessarily an actual pen and paper mini notebook, but something to function as such.  If you have a smart phone, like an iPhone or Blackberry, you can use their note taking features to quickly jot down anything that pops into your head.  This keeps you ahead of the game with a wealth of ideas that you can look to later, when you find yourself in need.

Read.  Can’t stress that one enough.  The more you put your energy towards learning new things, or reading new ideas, whether through books or magazines or online articles, the more information you’re taking in that you can call upon at a later date.  Extraordinarily useful when coming up with a new topic to write about.

Find a friend or colleague to bounce a few ideas off.  Let them know about the concept and tell them some things you were considering, or ways you want to approach writing about the idea.  The input they have could help you guide yourself into a brilliant new direction you couldn’t have thought of on your own.

If you find yourself struggling to think of anything while sitting at your desk, take a break.  Go outside for a few minutes, get some fresh air and clear your head.  You’ll find yourself feeling much more refreshed, and after wicking away the fatigue, you’ll be in a much better place to re-energize your thinking.

Finally, as a last resort, twist around another idea you’ve already read about or heard about.  If you can’t find an idea all to your own, borrow someone else’s.  Don’t just rehash an article or book that you’ve read before of course.  But take what you learned there, or the basic concept, and apply it to your own outlook, and your own unique writing voice to manufacture an entirely new piece of work.