A while ago, I followed a link on a Making Light comment to this early-20th-century writer's system for constructing plots. I'm not sure if this technique is brilliant or insane, but I may try it out one of these days.

(One of the things that has prevented me from getting any fiction on paper for years is that I come up with some idea for SFish setting or a general idea of how some characters would be in conflict, and then I ask myself "but what happens?" and it stops me cold. Any gimmick that could get me out of that rut can't be all bad.)