Previously we talked about taking a break between edits, and how stepping away for a period of time can help you approach a project with a fresher perspective. Well, imagine taking years in-between a first draft and a second draft to refresh your perspective on it—especially if you originally saw no merit in finishing it.
Go back through all your old files / notebooks / scribbles on those napkins from your Friday night haunt, and reacquaint yourself with something you wrote way-back-when that you thought would go nowhere. Even better if it is something you’d forgotten you wrote entirely. Take a closer look at it with your older, more experienced eyes (possibly covered by glasses at this point…) and consider reworking it as it is, or else see if something about it sparks a new idea—something that you do find merit in finishing.