When approaching a song, sometimes it can be difficult to confront some of the emotional issue you are trying to write about. A new study posted in Scientific American found that creativity is boosted in situations where there is "psychological distance". What does this mean for your songwriting? Try and write a song from someone else's perspective so you can really dig in to the character without focusing on yourself and how people will perceive you. You're likely to find that when telling someone else's story, you're really telling a more intimate story about yourself. Or perhaps it means creating a situation in your song that is unreal, unlikely and completely fantastical (usually what concept albums are all about). Often, the more you can let yourself sink into the fantasy world, the more creative you can be. Psychological distance can also mean giving something more time. If you're trying to write about something tragic that happened to you, it often helps to give it time so that you have proper perspective and can survey the damage after the wound has healed a bit. Either method you chose, tuning out to go inward is a good way to open up the flow of creative juices.
I have to admit, I do this all the time. by replacing "I" and "me" with "he" or "she" things suddenly seem a lot easier to write about.