The Tell a Friend technique.

Tell the story (or viewpoint) to a friend; real or imagined… She asks,"And then?" Answer her. And if you're just imagining, answer out loud. (Record and transcribe it later…).

Even if your answer is just "Well I could go here or I could go there…" Explore them both.

Follow the direction that opens soonest and easiest with more and more detail. Then go back and see where the other directions go as well.

Frame your friend's role as — they are there to encourage you and to listen. It's like a brainstorming session and only positive feedback is allowed.

Record the session; and you and your friend take notes (if you feel it's needed). You can return the favor on another occasion! You'll probably find that if you both take notes as well as recording the session you'll have a treasure trove of ideas, viewpoints and discussion that will start you writing in numerous other directions.

Take the notes and recording and use that as a starting place… First, let it trigger more writing.

Then edit it all later.

Or, here's input from my daughter (she who writes till the early am): Use something like LiveJournal.

You set up your own journal and then set up a community where you can give other users comment or even posting access. This is the tool she's using to both refine her writing and get feedback from people she trusts. Once she's refined her writing in the restricted access community, she posts that to her main journal, for more public viewing.