Quantity AND Quality

Whatever you want to do…you must do it! If you want to be a songwriter, you must write songs.
There is much to be said for studying your craft, learning your business and networking with your peers, but, ultimately, the way to become a successful songwriter is to write songs. The most common characteristic I find among successful songwriters is that they write.
They write often. They write good songs and bad songs, with others and by themselves, on days when they are inspired and on days when they really would rather be playing golf or should be fixing the toilet. They are willing to write the bad stuff to get to the good stuff. And that is how hits are created; by wading through the muck.
I have been known to write four or five songs on the same subject matter before I am satisfied that I have a good song that accurately expresses my idea. None of that writing time is wasted. It is all necessary to help focus the idea and hone my craft. The important thing is that I keep writing a worthwhile idea until I get to the point that I feel a million people can understand it and care about it.
I recommend that you rewrite a SONG until you have a complete, well structured song. Rewrite an IDEA until you feel satisfied that you have said what you meant to say about it in a way that clearly expresses the action and emotion of it, no matter how many songs it takes.
Don’t be afraid of quantity. It can often lead to quality.