One strategy for generating ideas is called freewriting. Freewriting is essentially forced writing: a time constraint is imposed, and during this set time a student must write non-stop, even if that means veering from the general topic. An important part of freewriting is the non-judgmental attitude that must accompany the process; this is not the time to critique, judge, evaluate, or even to pay attention to grammar, spelling, or format. Get the student to write—this is a crucial first step. 

Hot dogs…meat…bad meat…I don’t eat meat…especially "parts"…there’s nothing I’d want to put on a hot dog, nothing I’d want to do with a hot dog…people who eat hot dogs probably wouldn’t be people I’d want to be friends with…although I remember many family picnics, potato salad, Aunt Grace, checkered table cloths, a time when my family actually got along together, when life was simple…the time by Lake Lure when Mom and Dad and my brother Greg and I played horseshoes until sunset, ate hot dogs until we wouldn’t eat any more, and then topped off our full bellies with roasted marshmallows, all the while laughing and sharing stories about family memories, other picnics and gatherings…

This student dug up memories and images that she’d forgotten all because she was forced, through freewriting, to focus intensively on one particular topic, to dig deeper, to see what lay below the surface.