Good writing is pointing out.
Pinker suggests approaching writing as if you were pointing something in the environment out to another person – something that she would notice for herself, if only she knew where to look.
It’s not that they’re stupid and you’re enlightening them, but nor are they already inside your head. So you have to show them what you’ve noticed. Look, over there: can you see?
Stopping is as crucial as starting.
what really matters is stopping once you’ve met your word goal or completed your scheduled writing session. (And Boice suggests these should start very short indeed, like 10 or 15 minutes.) Don’t keep going, even if you’re on a roll. Make yourself get up, walk away, and do something else.
The urge to push onwards “includes a big component of impatience about not being finished, about not being productive enough, about never again finding such an ideal time” for work. If you keep going, you’ll reinforce your worst impulses, whereas walking away helps strengthen the muscle of patience that will permit you to return to your writing project, day after day.
This is also what dr k says about being a slave to your motivation. How you shouldn’t go all out when you have the motivation, but quit and turn it into something consistent
If you’re staring at a blank page, you’re doing it wrong.
consider shifting some of the energy you spend on writing away from the creation of finished products (articles, short stories, whatever) and onto the ongoing maintenance of some kind of system for storing and fleshing out your ideas.
The hardcore way to do this is to create a “Zettelkasten” system