Go back and reread everything you have so far all in one sitting; it can give you a better idea of where the work as a whole is headed.

Ask yourself "what if" questions about remote possibilities in the story. For example, if one of your characters has just gotten a great job offer, as yourself "What if she turned it down to backpack through Europe?" Even if you don't use these scenarios for your story, they'll give you insights into the world you've created if you actually answer the question instead of dismissing the possibility immediately.

Sit down and think about what you want the end result of your story to be. What do you want your readers to take away when they've finished the story? Are you trying to advance an opinion, debunk a myth, put a human face to a misunderstood issue, or something else? If you have no goal in mind, you will experience frequent writers' block and possibly end up blathering on forever because your story never accomplishes anything and thus never achieves closure. Your goal need not be anything political or moral; it could be something as simple as "To get my readers to understand my character" because there will be a point at which they do understand, and then you will have accomplished something.

Tips For When You Can't Get Started:

Just put your pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and do not stop, even for a second, until you've finished an entire page. Just write whatever pops into your head. It doesn't have to be coherent or fit together, just write and write until that page is full. Look back over it, and don't be surprised if some interesting ideas are buried there.

Go to something you love. If music is your life, listen to your favorite songs in the world. If art is your world, look at some great art, whatever great art is to you. If you're all about the written word, pick up a collection of short stories (a novel might not work well for this, since it's probably not going to provide a great diversity of ideas). Don't steal, but rather let ideas suggest themselves when you see something of your life or yourself echoed in a piece.

Write a part of the story other than the beginning. It's okay to write the scenes and chapters out of order, and you'll be less intimidated once you've already written something. Just remember to keep these snippets organized and labeled, so that when the time comes, you can link them without having to puzzle over the order in which you intended them to appear.

Tips For Poetry:

Think images, images, images. One of the most effective things you can do in a poem is to give the reader a mental picture of something that will bring out the emotions you seek, so skip the explanations and *show* us.

Don't try too hard to make things rhyme. Rhyming is nice, and when done artfully, can enhance the impact of a poem, but don't resort to awkward wording just to get rhyming words at the ends of lines, and don't distort the meanings of words to make them fit somewhere they don't belong.

Don't feel obligated to follow the rules of prose. Poetry is a different art form. It doesn't have to have complete sentences, punctuation, capital letters, or any other trappings of prose. Everything that's there should enhance the effect you're going for, and nothing should be there just because it's the thing to do.

-Lefty

I'd like to add, coming up with intricate back stories for side characters is fun, and, even if you don't mention most of it, you'll be able to add more interest to those characters' dialogue and actions. Developing your protagonist is important, but it's also important to never have a dull aspect of the story, even when it's minor.

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