I write and write and write and write until it makes sense to me, which is sometimes only when I re-read it all hours, days, or weeks later and can pick out and pare down what I really want to say. It's like having a bunch of puzzle pieces dumped out. You try to put them together--but the problem is not all of the pieces are to the same puzzle. But you gotta get 'em all out, so you can make sense of it all and get to only the pieces you need. I, like Purple Daisy, think journaling can be very helpful.