Breaking thru

So, you've hit a bit of a standstill, you just can't any ideas or your plating arrangement just isn't working for you, what do you do?

Start over. 

This might seem a little "basic" but in my opinion it's the best fix there is. for some reason your sauce just isn't cooperating with you, the broccoli got over cooked so now it's a pale lifeless green color or any other number of problems occurred. START OVER or 86 it (remove it). Like I said in an earlier post, hold yourself to a standard and never let your standards slip.
  

Take a break 

Again, a super easy suggestion, but both of these ideas work when you are plating your food, take a break, just take 5. Go have a smoke, if you're also having to start over because something is not working on the plate start on whatever it is you have to re-do. Maybe throw away your idea that you had started with and just "feel" it out, look at the plate the way the person is going to see it sitting down, imagine the sauce on the plate, where is it going to fit in best, do you want to use it as your negative space, how about the protein how are you going to draw there eye to it?

Copy 

There is nothing wrong with simply copying someone eases idea, after all imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Who knows as your going about the process of copying this idea, you might think of something else that fits what you're trying to do just a little bit more, or even add your own unique twist on it as well.

All of these can and probably will at some point be used in conjunction with each other at some point in time, some of my best work has come from using these ideas. Of course you may not be able to take a break if you're plating up food to serve as everyone is sitting down at your dinner table but you can start over, and then if you remember the idea you can just copy it, or while you're washing the dish if you're going to be re-using the same plate just look up an idea on your phone.