Getting the creative juices flowing

[mips42]

Now that we've got a workable version of 5e (Some people feel slightly differently, but there ya go) and a few monsters to play with from the Starter set, I kinda want to make an adventure. But it's been YEARS since I've tried and I'm finding that that particular vein of creativity seems to be dry.
What techniques do YOU use when trying to get the ol' juices flowing?

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Now that we've got a workable version of 5e (Some people feel slightly differently, but there ya go) and a few monsters to play with from the Starter set, I kinda want to make an adventure. But it's been YEARS since I've tried and I'm finding that that particular vein of creativity seems to be dry.
What techniques do YOU use when trying to get the ol' juices flowing?

I look at D&D art and find a picture or pictures that really seem to come alive. These could be of monsters, an encounter, or an NPC. That's usually my starting point.

 

[GMMichael]

What techniques do YOU use when trying to get the ol' juices flowing?

Watch a primetime TV show. Convert it to D&D.

My preferred technique, though, is to design a villain and then let him decide what problems the PCs will face

 

[Pallidore]

Pick a portion of my game setting that is really interesting to me. Take elements and scenes from favorite fantasy movies and novels and blend them to make an adventure I would like to partake of, then storyboard it out like a script, building in the places for social interaction, exploration, encounters, traps, twists, secrets, treasures, etc.

 

[mips42]

It's funny, once I built a character or two, I got an idea for a town that they could live in.
Then I started thinking of the things that could happen to that town that those characters care about.
Then I started asking the basic questions: Who's doing it? What is the reason behind it? How does this affect the character and the town?
Now I have the beginning of an adventure to work on. I just gotta get my hands on some monster stat blocks.