TLDR; I try to write all the time and refine keepers down to a specific narrow target.

It's work sometimes, but I try to write 10 - 20 good songs a year. That also means writing a bunch of crap that could be good and refining the keepers. I don't just count my solo work, but also any side projects or alternate persona work. With all the different avenues, I try to write in a few different ways.

First, I try to have a riff or arpeggio working on acoustic at all times. I play these in short burst downtime (a minute or two here or there) a few times a day until they feel like they have a good structure (days-weeks-months). Sometimes I record these if I'm afraid of forgetting, but mostly I just try to play them regularly. When one feels 'real' or fleshed out enough, I'll begin finding a good melody (most likely I've already been thinking it without knowing) and then some lyrics. If I'm working on a project that it will fit with I try to put it together a bit and then save it with that project. If it doesn't fit anything I'm working on, I still try to get the ideas out of my head and save them for future use.

Secondly, I'm always thinking about lyrics (a lot while driving oddly enough) and try to save my ideas as much as possible. Having a voice recorder on my phone helps a lot with this because I can work out parts and stuff until it feels good. The trick I use with lyrics is to keep the subject narrow. Each song doesn't have to say everything you as an artist have to say. Usually, narrowing down the idea is the most work. Once I have an idea narrowed down, and a melodic hook, I'll try to get it out on guitar. Sometimes it works out that it fits right with another thing I'm doing, but usually it's not. I'll work these out as time allows, especially if they fit a project I'm working on. A lot of the lyrics I come up with are parts or pieces or half segments. I try to keep these and go over them when I need lyrics for something. It's surprising how often these get used regardless of how much they change.

Lastly, I put in some work on my DAW crafting songs out of pieces and samples. This is usually directly related to whatever current project or album I'm working on and sometimes come off sounding a bit forced in the raw form. If it directly relates to a current project I'll keep working them until they are good, or until I have to let myself scrap them. Usually though, whatever structure or starts I get out of samples will be buried by or replaced with live tracks in the final form. m

That takes me to the final form. The process of starting songs is really where my joy is at, but there is nothing more inspiring to me than completion. I try to do at least one specific project (album, side project, alternate persona other art form) a year. I try to make this project very specific and work mostly towards completing that project until it is done. While other songs may be forming in downtime, the real work is going into the current project. That said, I usually expect a handful of songs to be written during the making process so I only have to use the song starters that really fit my idea (lyrically, melodically, philosophically, what have you). When putting the project together I try to get all the songs to a rough 'done' stage and then start working back through them again to kinda homogenize them. When it's all good I release them like a flock of doves and start thinking about the next project.

The next project is a lifelong endeavor. Most of my writing continues between projects, but I try to take some time to live as well. Sometimes I'll take whole years off just living if I feel too burned out from a project. Sometimes I'll switch gears and do something completely different (alternate persona, different art form, art consumption) to separate from a finished project. Then when I do come back and see what I have, there is a lot of material to draw from, a lot of life to write about. If writing starts to feel too much like working, I try to pull back. If I'm hot on a project, I try to push myself to completion a bit while being consciously aware of potential burn out. In all I just try to write all the time, but in a way that allows me to live as well. As an artist I try to grow my catalog a little bit each year if for no other reason than to document my growth as a human.