jinkeesue asked: As an aspiring writer, I'd like to know how you overcome writer's block. Any creative techniques?

Find ways to force yourself to write. To trick yourself into writing. Some ideas:

1. Take sketch classes (or something similar) at UCB. Doing that, and having to write a sketch every week that will be read aloud in class, forces you to write. Cuz if you dont write your sketch, you’ll be embarrassed in front of people.

2. Find other writer friends and create your own writers group. It will help hold you accountable. Itll make you create. And itll also make you get better.

3. When you sit down to write, maybe just free-write first. Just jot down ideas. Disconnected ideas. Anything. They dont need to be meaningful or good yet. Just open a doc and shit out anything. When I was writing “Other People” I did that. Sometimes it can be too intimidating to start right at the top with Scene 1. No one really does that (I think). Just free-write a bunch of crap first, then slowly but surely themes and ideas will come to the surface. And you’l feel accomplished just getting something (anything!) down on paper.

4. Sometimes literally just opening a Final Draft doc and titling it helps me! Cuz even though I havent written a thing yet, having that doc exist helps me mentally! Hahahah, its truly nothing but it FEELS like something.