Flow charts are king when writing a new article. I use them to plan out the various different ways, hell I even use them when writing essays. It's the umbrella effect.
Always overplan to eliminate the need to stop mid point when the juices just get flowing to find out where you're going from there.

If you ever find yourself limited for ideas when doing an article, a technique I try to use, whether you'd call it a technique or not is to verse my surroundings whether it be with books pertaining to the subject, websites, anything that can provide either a new outlook or some new intriguing information on a topic that might give me that kickstart.

Endless supply of your favourite beverage and a good dose of music can't hurt either!