People are innately imaginative and creative. However, most people are simply not conscious of their imaginative and creative selves.

Creativity is cognitive process of developing a novel idea or concept.

Teresa M. Amabile, a creativity expert, argues that creativity is not a quality of a person. Rather, it is a quality of ideas, behaviors or products.

According to her, creativity has 3 basic ingredients:

1. Domain-Relevant Skills - These are skills associated with expertise in a relevant field (e.g., artistic ability, technical ability, talent, etc.).

2. Creativity-Relevant Skills - These skills include a cognitive style or method of thinking oriented towards exploring new directions, approaches that can be used to generate new ideas, and a work style conducive to developing creative ideas.

3. Task Motivation - Recent evidence suggests that a genuine interest in a task for its own sake, rather than for achieving external rewards such as money, enhances creativity.

That little notebook is a powerhouse of ideas for every writer: The more you write down bits and pieces of your thoughts and observations, more you are adding into well of ideas for future works.

Here are a few things you can record in your notebook or journal, so that in case you run out of ideas to write about, you can refer to it:

Your Shoeboxed Life: Write what you know, feel and experience. Jot down snippets of events in your life. Write a sentence or a paragraph about a funny, embarrassing, happy or infuriating experience.

The Interesting People. Scribble descriptions of people you meet every day. How do they react in certain situations? How do their names fit their image?

A Word a Day. Whenever an interesting word catches your attention, write it down. It may have a different meaning for you a month or a year from now. If you keep a list of words in your notebook, these words can serve as story starters for you.