Brainstorming

I feel like I'm a master at brainstorming. Mostly because it involves the thing I do best: daydreaming. Going to another world in my own head and losing myself in it. I've been a daydreamer my whole life, and since I've starting writing seriously, I use that to brainstorm new ideas or plot twists and turns.

I'm not a plotter. I'm not a note taker. I don't do anything really technical to get my manuscripts going (or continuing). If I'm stuck with a problem, I find a way to do something mindless that leaves my brain able to daydream up what I want to happen next.

Like driving. A lot of us get ideas while we're driving, right? Driving is a mindless task. You know what to do but it's not something you have to consciously think about. It gives your mind a chance to wander to other things. This works best for me when I'm driving a long distance but even short car rides sometimes, with a great song on the radio, can provide me with a whole bucketful of inspiration.

Cleaning also works. I HATE cleaning. The only way I can moderately enjoy sponging down my toilets (shudder) is by letting my mind loose to think about something a lot better. Like my MC's crush.

I also have a brainstorming buddy. If I'm stuck in a spot, I text her and say, this is where I'm at- what happens next? She fires back all these different scenarios that I never would have thought of cuz I'm too involved in the book. Sometimes I end up going with something she said, and sometimes it's enough for my own brain juices to start flowing and I come up with my own idea.

If all the above fails, or if I'm just too tired to clean or exercise just to find ideas, I do something that's moderately embarrassing. I sit on the edge of my bed by the window where the sun shines in, and I pick my hair. (Did you think I was going to say nose? Gross). I have this bad habit of picking the split ends out of my long hair. So I sit in the sun and pick my hair and for some reason I can usually come up with some great ideas. Weird, but very true.

Anyone have any other ideas for brainstorming? What do you do to get those brain juices flowing?