I almost always start off a new quilt by making one 'practice' block (which is usually good enough to make it into the final quilt). The practice block is where I figure out things like the best order to sew the pieces together, which way to press the seams, and how to mass produce the block.
Pressing some seams open can help deal with the humps at the intersections. The only downside is that you can't stitch in the ditch then.
I'm going to try that hammer trick, though. Nothing better than problems that can be solved by whaling on something with a hammer.