Dylan McFadyen
The short answer: by writing!
The long, less flippant answer: I have a couch in my office which I call the Thinking Couch (it's also the couch that my dog El Doggo sleeps on about half the time. I don't think the two uses are related). When I hit a block, I go lie down on the Thinking Couch for a few minutes and try to puzzle out whatever I'm stuck on.
Usually that's enough; when it's not, I pace around the room for a while, and eventually just force myself to hammer at the keys until something legible comes out, whether or not it's good.
I used to get much worse writer's block, finding myself hung up on a particular scene or issue for days or even weeks without making any progress. Eventually, I realized that the specific issues were irrelevant; the broader issue was that I was letting my obsession with writing the perfect word, sentence, or scene be the enemy of actually writing. My oft-repeated mantra now is "we'll fix it in post."
I think that as a writer, you have to become comfortable with the power of editing to fix your mistakes and improve your writing - but it can only do that if you finish what you start. So, when you get stuck, try just pressing on and writing whatever comes to mind, whether you like it or not. You'll be able to fix it in post - and sometimes, you might read through it again later on and find that it was better than you thought all along.
The long, less flippant answer: I have a couch in my office which I call the Thinking Couch (it's also the couch that my dog El Doggo sleeps on about half the time. I don't think the two uses are related). When I hit a block, I go lie down on the Thinking Couch for a few minutes and try to puzzle out whatever I'm stuck on.
Usually that's enough; when it's not, I pace around the room for a while, and eventually just force myself to hammer at the keys until something legible comes out, whether or not it's good.
I used to get much worse writer's block, finding myself hung up on a particular scene or issue for days or even weeks without making any progress. Eventually, I realized that the specific issues were irrelevant; the broader issue was that I was letting my obsession with writing the perfect word, sentence, or scene be the enemy of actually writing. My oft-repeated mantra now is "we'll fix it in post."
I think that as a writer, you have to become comfortable with the power of editing to fix your mistakes and improve your writing - but it can only do that if you finish what you start. So, when you get stuck, try just pressing on and writing whatever comes to mind, whether you like it or not. You'll be able to fix it in post - and sometimes, you might read through it again later on and find that it was better than you thought all along.
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