Writing Prompts, or What am I going to write?

One of the hurdles in my writing life is finding things to write about.  I guess you could call it writer’s block, but I always think of that as a more terrible condition than just sitting there drawing a blank.  My writer’s block comes in anxiety and stress when I don’t feel I can do justice to my idea.

My daily battle is figuring out what my idea is. 

One idea is to write what is around you.  However, my morning writing takes place on my rideshare van.  I feel like there is only so many ways to describe the fields I pass by on my commute.

Another idea is to start with a word or phrase you hear.  This isn’t a bad idea and I’ve managed to write a few poems/stories with things I hear.  Unfortunately, most of the morning chatter is about sports.  Most of the time, everyone is sleeping.

I could always go with a word or phrase from a book, if I bring a book with me.

Now that I’ve recognized that I need to plan ahead for things like this, I’m planning on making up a list of writing prompts to keep in my notebook.  Random phrases, ideas, words, and images will sit there, waiting for me to get tired of corn in its many phases and spin the randomness into writing.  Or, you know, something close to it.

What do you use to keep writer’s block at bay?  Do you use writing prompts?