I get ideas, and then play around with them in my head or on paper. Sometimes the muse can be persuaded to work on the idea, sometimes she can't. So when I'm feeling like writing, I'll haul out the ideas that I've written down and work on them until such time as the muse throws in the towel, then I let them rest for a while, and try again later.
Don't know if that makes any sense!
Melisma (under her Rock, trying to persuade the muse to let her work on at least two of her WIPs, both of them LnC, even though she's got a really urgent TNG WIP to work on...)
